My MiL made a statement when her son and I were discussing if we were ready to get engaged that she had better like the woman her son is married to or she will make that females life a living hell. We got engaged a few months after that and she has succeeded at her initial threat.
She started off our marriage by making sure she was the center of attention. Think of the Jennifer Lopez-Jane Fonda Movie Monster in law, I swear they made parts of that movie about us. My MiL refused to wear lavender (Our main wedding color) or floral to our service. Instead she showed up in an ankle length white prom style dress with a complete updo. She insisted on telling everyone who would listen that she paid for he majority of our wedding. Sadly that was not the case, as my husband and I scrimped and saved for an entire year to pay for our very low key event. We wanted nothing from our parents and wanted to be able to go into our marriage with no debt to anyone.
For our honeymoon we had decided that we were going to go to Las Vegas (from the day after our wedding until the following weekend) and stay in a beautiful suit overlooking Las Vegas Blvd. Imagine my surprise when we are checking into our hotel and run into my new MiL. Apparently she “just needed to get away” after all of the stress of “planning a wedding”.
Fast forward five years and many more crazy little incidents to my pregnancy. I am not of the Christian faith, I am more spiritual than religious. She began to have a huge fit when she asked when we would be planning to baptize our twins. I explained to her that I would not be doing that as it was not within my beliefs and if they want that when they get older they are free to do it then. She lost her mind. She called my DH and told him that he needs to get baptized and that he has to MAKE me baptize our children. DH told her that he was not going to do either and that he is of the belief that children are born to whatever religious beliefs the mother is. She then went on a tirade that she was going to teach my children all about “her religious beliefs” (she has not been to church in the 20 years I have known her) and that she would explain to my children that I am the devil and trying to deceive them. Of course my hormones were out of wack and I lost my temper. I basically told her that should she try to manipulate my children the way she has her own son for his whole like that she would never see my children. It then that she threatened to take me to court for “grandparents right” and that she would fight me for visitation with them. She must have believed I am crazy enough to write her off (I did it to my own bio-mother) because she actually spoke with a lawyer who I heard told her she didn’t have a leg to stand on and that she would be wasting her money. That it was in her own best interest to “play nice” and get along. Needless to say she “tried” to play nice but it wasn’t really in her nature.
Their were MANY other things that could have driven a wedge over the last decade. But the whole trying to threaten to take my kids away was enough for me to never trust her again. And to absolutely loose all respect for her.