When Penelope\u2019s in-laws wanted her twins to spend time with their grandparents, she reluctantly allowed it, with her husband convincing her they could spend time together. But when Penelope phoned to check in on her girls, she discovered something horrific. It all started innocently enough. My husband, Seth, and I decided to take our twin girls, Ava and Blair, to visit his parents for the weekend.Seth\u2019s parents, Paul and Linda, lived not too far away from us, but they were surrounded by rolling hills and endless fields. \u201cThe girls should love it,\u201d Seth said. \u201cThey\u2019ll love the flower bushes and everything. And also, they haven\u2019t really spent a lot of time with my parents, so this is going to be good.\u201d \u201cYeah,\u201d I replied. \u201cI guess so.\n
And it will be good for us to get outside for a while.\u201d\u201cActually,\u201d Seth said, \u201cit is the summer holidays. Why don\u2019t we pack a bag for the twins and let them stay for a few days? My mom did mention it a few weeks ago.\u201d That made me uneasy. The twins hadn\u2019t really been exposed to Seth\u2019s parents, and I was always worried about them telling the twins the truth.Seth and I adopted Ava and Blair as infants, and we\u2019ve always treated them like they were our own. That\u2019s because they were just that. However, we just hadn\u2019t told them about their adoption yet.\u201cWe\u2019ll wait until they\u2019re older,\u201d I told Seth. \u201cLike, let\u2019s wait until they\u2019re 16 at least.\u201d\n
\u201cI agree, love,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t disturb everything they know right now. And anyway, seven is too young to understand everything.\u201d But Paul and Linda had always been a bit strange about the whole thing. They always said they loved my children like any of the other grandchildren, but I knew they treated them differently. They also had a tradition of inviting their grandchildren over for summer visits, and if the twins stayed, this would be their first time.\u201cOkay,\u201d I said eventually. \u201cWe can pack their things, and if they want to stay, then by all means.\u201d Although I said that to my husband, the truth was that I was still hesitant about leaving my children with Linda. Over the years, she would buy the twins cheap, thoughtless gifts while splurging on the other grandchildren.And even when they were babies, she had avoided holding them and often seemed to forget they existed unless prompted.\n
\u201cOh, sorry, Penelope,\u201d Linda said. \u201cI\u2019m just about to go into the kitchen and sort out some food; I\u2019ll hold the kids later.\u201d But still, Seth was excited about the visit, insisting it was an important family tradition and that once the kids were there, we could have some alone time.\u201cIt\u2019s too late to book a place for us, Pen,\u201d he said, \u201cbut we could have a staycation. It will be great for us. We barely get a chance to be alone and intimate.\u201d So, with a mix of apprehension and hope, I agreed. When we got there, Linda greeted us with her usual warm smile.\u201cIt\u2019s so good to see you all!\u201d she exclaimed, but I noticed she didn\u2019t make much eye contact with the girls. \u201cOh boy,\u201d I muttered under my breath. This was just the beginning.\u201cSo!\u201d Linda said, \u201cYou girls are going to sleep in the shed out back. It\u2019s going to be a little adventure! And don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve set it up nicely with beds and everything.\u201d Immediately, I hesitated again. A shed? A shed seemed old and unfit for children.\u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s fine, Pen,\u201d Seth said. \u201cMy mother won\u2019t put our kids into a place that they shouldn\u2019t be in. They probably did it up nicely for the grandkids.\u201d But why didn\u2019t we check it out before leaving? That\u2019s something I\u2019ll always ask myself.\n
\u201cCome on, love,\u201d Seth said when the girls were running around with Lila, the dog. \u201cThey\u2019re settled in, and they\u2019re fine. And Mom is making a chicken pot pie for dinner. They\u2019re going to be fine. And Dad said that Jesse is on the way with the other kids.\u201dSo, we left and went out for dinner together. \u201cDate nights are important, Pen,\u201d Seth said when we sat down at the table. We only had a few hours to ourselves, and then Seth had to get back to work. His hours were ridiculous because he worked for an overseas company.Later that evening, I called the girls to check in and make sure they were okay. Their voices, usually full of energy, sounded subdued. \u201cMom, we\u2019re scared,\u201d Ava whispered. \u201cThere are weird noises here, and we think we saw some rats.\u201d \u201cAnd the hay is very sharp, and it\u2019s been poking our skin when we try to sleep,\u201d Blair chimed in.Hay? \u201cWhat hay? Where are the other kids?\u201d I asked. \u201cThey\u2019re inside,\u201d Blair said. \u201cGran said that they can sleep upstairs in the beds. Why can\u2019t we? It\u2019s cold out here.\u201dI was furious. How could they treat my girls like this while the other kids stayed comfortably inside? With Seth at work, I had no choice but to get to the girls myself. I grabbed my keys and drove to my in-laws\u2019 house, my hands shaking with anger.When Linda opened the door, she had a smug look on her face as if she had been expecting me. \u201cWhy are my children sleeping in a shed with hay? I thought you did it up so that it was suitable for children?\u201d I shouted. \u201cAnd why are the other kids inside the house?\u201d Linda didn\u2019t even flinch.\u201cIt\u2019s just part of our tradition,\u201d she said nonchalantly. \u201cWe teach the kids the value of hard work and humility. The shed is just the first step in the process.\u201d\n
\u201cHard work and humility?\u201d I echoed. \u201cThey\u2019re seven years old, not farmhands. And why only my kids? Why aren\u2019t the other kids out there too?\u201dLinda\u2019s gaze turned cold. \u201cPenelope, these children need to learn their place. After all, they aren\u2019t as important as the others. They\u2019re adopted. They\u2019re not real family.\u201d Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.\u201cThis is unacceptable,\u201d I said, my entire body shaking with emotion. \u201cThey are children, and they deserve the same treatment as any of the other grandkids.\u201d Linda just shrugged. \u201cIf you don\u2019t like it, you can take them back home. But then don\u2019t expect them to be a part of any family traditions in the future.\u201d\u201cThat\u2019s the last thing I want,\u201d I said. \u201cI don\u2019t want my kids to have anything to do with you, Linda.\u201d Fuming, I stormed past her and went straight to the shed. My heart broke at the sight of Ava and Blair huddled together on the makeshift beds, their eyes wide with fear. I scooped them up and marched back to the house.\u201cWe\u2019re leaving,\u201d I declared, glaring at Linda. \u201cAnd don\u2019t expect to see any of us again unless you can treat all your grandchildren with equal love and respect.\u201d As I drove away, my girls safely tucked into the backseat, a mix of anger and relief washed over me. At home, I set the girls up in bed and kissed them before letting them get to sleep. I knew we had a bigger conversation in the morning.When Seth got home, I told him what happened. \u201cYou\u2019re joking,\u201d he said, livid.\n
\u201cYou\u2019re telling me that my mother did this?!\u201d I nodded. \u201cThis is not how our daughters will be treated,\u201d he said firmly. \u201cWe\u2019ll handle this together. Let the girls sleep.\u201dThe next morning, my mother came over to babysit the girls. \u201cWe\u2019ll just play with the dollhouse until you come back,\u201d she said. Then, we returned to confront his parents. And, my goodness, my husband didn\u2019t mince his words.\u201cMom, what you did is unforgivable. You treated my daughters like they were less than human because they\u2019re adopted. Until you can show that you love and respect all your grandchildren equally, you won\u2019t be seeing any of us.\u201d The confrontation was intense. Linda tried to defend her actions, but Seth stood his ground. Eventually, she broke down. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d she said, tears running down her face.But I couldn\u2019t care less. Our decision rippled through the family. Jesse, Seth\u2019s brother, refused to take his kids over to their parents, too. And do you know how karma stepped in? A month later, it was Linda\u2019s 70th birthday, and it was supposed to be a big deal. We were all supposed to be there, ready to celebrate the matriarch.But nobody showed up. Paul phoned Seth and told him that Linda had spent the day crying, regretting everything. \u201cToo bad, Dad,\u201d Seth said. \u201cI\u2019m focusing on my children. My family is more important.\u201d\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My In-Laws Told My Kids to Sleep in a Shed \u2013 Their Reason Shocked Me, but Karma Soon Intervened When Penelope\u2019s in-laws wanted her twins to spend time with their grandparents, she reluctantly allowed it, with her husband convincing her they could spend time together. But when Penelope phoned to check in on her girls,\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":84829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[855],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-84825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-story"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/162.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}