Mother-in-law stay for weeks. How can I get her to leave?
When my mother-in-law comes to visit for “a few days” each summer, she ends up staying for weeks. We love her, but our house is cramped when she’s around. How can I get her to leave?
answer:
Figuring out how to fit relatives into your busy life can be a challenge. If you enjoy your mother-in-law’s visits, why not be straight with her about the space problem? Before she books her trip, tell her, “Our house is just too small for you to stay here for long periods. Let’s figure out a solution.” Offer to book her into an extended-stay hotel or rent an apartment for a short period of time. If the issue is also the length of the stays, you might plan a vacation together and stay in a large condo or hotel suite for a limited time. That way everybody gets to visit, have fun, and not be on top of each other—and there’s a definite end point to the togetherness. Another idea: Maybe you can work out a few short visits each year, which will be easier to handle and schedule.
The biggest problem is that you’ve let this issue recur without doing anything about it, which can cause resentment to build up and ruin everybody’s good time. You have options. Talk to your mother-in-law, and I’ll bet you can come up with some creative solutions.
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