«I don’t know what to do!» sighed 60-year-old Mrs. Barbara sadly. «My son always takes his wife’s side every time! He’s always on her side. No matter what I say. ‘Mom,’ he says, ‘don’t worry, Julia knows everything herself, she’s not stupid after all… She thinks Julia is always right! Even when she does something wrong!»

Mrs. Barbara’s daughter-in-law, Julia, is 28 years old. Together with her husband, Mikołaj, they have a child who is one and a half years old, and they live separately — they took out a mortgage and bought an apartment. Julia is on maternity leave, so Mikołaj is the one working. They live comfortably, not spending money on unnecessary things, having enough for what they need.

To be honest, Mrs. Barbara doesn’t really like Julia. At first, she was shocked when her son brought his fiancée.

«Long nails! High heels! Enlarged lips!» Mrs. Barbara told her best friend about her son’s fiancée. «In a short skirt, tons of makeup, and a tattoo on her neck. It was terrible… At first, I thought Mikołaj was joking. He couldn’t have chosen such a woman.»

A few weeks after I met his fiancée, their wedding took place, where, according to her mother-in-law, Julia also appeared in a short leather skirt and a blouse…

…During the first years of their marriage, Mrs. Barbara didn’t take Julia seriously — she was sure it wouldn’t work out. Her sturdy, serious, and intelligent son couldn’t fall in love with Julia, who was a villager. But months went by, and separation wasn’t considered. They were doing well. Mrs. Barbara didn’t interfere in their affairs. A few times a month, she would call her son, ask how he was doing, and send greetings to his wife.

It wasn’t until a year and a half ago that she started communicating a bit with Julia, when her grandson was born.

«I went to them the day after they left the hospital and I saw my daughter-in-law with a manicure! I told her, ‘Julia, you can’t do that, you’ll hurt the child!’ But she didn’t even want to listen, she just said she would manage. I went to my son, and he said, ‘Mom, don’t interfere! It’s not your business! Whatever I say to them, they always say the same thing — it’s not your business! The house is a mess! She’s too lazy to cook anything! I tell her to make soup for my son, and she replies that Paweł doesn’t eat soup. How can he not eat soup? He eats it at my place! If you’re not lazy and cook it properly, he’ll eat it all…»

Mrs. Barbara tries to influence her daughter-in-law through her son, but it’s in vain: Mikołaj is always on Julia’s side. Always. No matter what she says, does, or doesn’t do — everything is fine.

Lately, Mrs. Barbara has been very worried that Julia is always on the Internet.

«I haven’t seen Julia without her phone for a long time!» the mother-in-law sighs. «After all, she has a child. You need to talk to him, teach him, read him books, not constantly be on your phone!»

It’s because of this that Mrs. Barbara argued with her daughter-in-law almost a month ago. To the point that now it’s unclear how to reconcile.

«I went to them as usual and knocked on the door — no one was there. I thought they were probably at the playground. They have a nice playground next to the building, new, and Pawełek likes to play there. I went there and saw that they were really there. Julia was sitting on a bench, staring at her phone, not noticing anything. She didn’t see me. My grandson was playing in the sandbox, three meters away, there were other children with their mothers as well. My grandson noticed me, stood up, and walked towards me — his mother didn’t even pay attention! The child went beyond the fence — straight onto the road where cars drive… sometimes!

But this time no one was driving?

Thank goodness, no! It’s good there were no cars! What would have happened if the child made a mistake? What if it was a stranger? Or a car was coming? I don’t even want to think about it! Anyway, I picked up Pawełek, went to her, and she’s still on her phone! She was browsing Instagram as if nothing happened. I went up to her and said, ‘Julia, I’ll take your phone away in a moment! So you’ll start taking care of your child instead of being on social media! What kind of a mother are you…’ Admittedly, I said it too loudly. Everyone was staring at us. She got up, took the child, and ran home. Paweł was screaming, he wanted to be picked up by me. I followed her…

Of course, my daughter-in-law was faster. She ran to the apartment with the child and locked herself inside. Mrs. Barbara knocked and rang the doorbell, but without success.

«I started calling my son, told him everything, and he said: ‘Mom, you’re surely exaggerating. Calm down, Julia is a good mother, taking care of the child.’ I told him — Mikołaj, I saw it with my own eyes! We have to do something about this while we still can… What do you think happened next? Now neither my son nor my daughter-in-law talk to me. They don’t open the door, they don’t answer the phone. It’s been a month already! I don’t know what she told him.

Perhaps my son is doing the right thing?

Even if his mother is right, he’s taking his wife’s side. Is that how it should be?

Main photo: YouTube