extended family

Philippines
April 27, 2013 1:35am CST
what will you do when your husband's brother and his family suddenly moved into your home which was enough for a family with two kids? I'm really frustrated when that happened to us, I felt like I have given up our privacy and independency as a family because we have to share everything not only the house itself, but also some personal things like shampoo, soap, toothpaste and even basic needs. What made it more difficult is that my husband's brother had no work, only the wife supports their family who unfortunately doesn't prioritize their son. Why did I said that? Well, even their son's milk was shouldered by us. The most unfortunate situation is that I'm pregnant and sometimes my situation was taken for granted because we have to prioritize the daily needs. I'm very depressed when I think about these things and sometimes I really wanted to give up. Most of the time I asked myself and cant even believe that there are those people who don't care about other's feelings.
2 responses
@dagami (1158)
• Rome, Italy
27 Apr 13
i would feel bad about this situation too. living with other people means you have to lose your privacy and make plenty of adjustments. different people have different likes and dislikes. why did they come to your house? what happened to the place where they were former living? how long are they planning to stay with you? i suggest you talk to your husband about this. i'm sure that he would prioritize his family over his brother's. it's good to be able to help but sometimes you have to learn to say no when things go out of hand.
• Philippines
29 Apr 13
well, this is the story. honestly, they fight over small things and later on my brother in law moved out from their house alone and left his wife and son without anything. as in literally empty handed. he left all his clothes, important papers and everything. only the clothes he wore that day and his one way fare to our house. there fight involves money matters, third party and also some physical like allegedly my brother-in-law hit his wife which we later on found out that it's the other way around. He didn't left their house instead he was sent out of the house, and the worst thing was that their neighbor saw that it's the wife who hit the husband. They used to live in the house of his wife's aunt who really got mad with my brother-in law due to false accusations of his wife. Then eventually, when the relatives found out what really happened they send away their niece who in return followed his husband who then stayed w/us. We advised them on how to handle their problems based on our own experiences as husband and wife because we don't want them to separate for the sake of their child and so they reconciled and patch things up. What's so irritating was that they can't even support their child's needs like his milk when we all know that they have the means to do it. What we wanted them to do is at least prioritize their child just like what we do with ours so as not to harrass other people because it is not our responsibility anymore. I've talked to my husband about it and his advice to me is to talk directly to the wife because we are both mother and maybe she will listen to me.
@ayeeesha (1127)
• Philippines
27 Apr 13
Situations like this should be discussed and decided by you and your husband jointly. It involves your home and your privacy so your home shouldn't be compromised like that. Why don't you talk to your husband so that he can talk to his brother and if possible, give a deadline. You're pregnant and your needs should be prioritized. In fact, you shouldn't even care about the brother's family's needs. That's none of your business already. I know it may sound selfish but why don't you prepare like food only for you and your family alone? But the best thing is to talk to your husband. This situation is not good for you.