“My Husband Was Livid”: Woman Waits For Her MIL In The Bathroom In Weird Poses, Suspecting She Is Not Walking In On Her Accidentally
Having family over is a fun time, especially when they are staying with you during the holiday period, as life gets busy so you may not see them as often as you would like. While you may love them, they can still annoy you and it’s for the best that you don’t live together anymore.
This woman on Reddit welcomed her mother-in-law into her home for the Thanksgiving and Christmas period while her home is being renovated. A weird habit that the woman noticed was that her MIL would walk in on her while she was in the bathroom and she started to suspect it wasn’t by accident, so she came up with a fun prank.
More info: Reddit
Woman suspected that her mother-in-law was purposefully walking in on her in the bathroom so she decided to play a little game
Image credits: k.steudel (not the actual photo)
The Original Poster (OP) doesn’t lock the bathroom door, or any room door, as a matter of fact, because when she was 5 years old, her brother locked her in so she was pretty traumatized.
That isn’t a problem when there’s 2 people living in the house, but during her one-week stay, MIL walked in on the OP a couple of times and she started to think that she was doing it on purpose. But when she talked with her husband, he didn’t think it was a big deal because she’s family.
Mother-in-law’s home was being renovated so she plans to stay at her son’s house for the holiday season
Image credits: Positive_Balance3756
To prove her point, the woman would go to the bathroom without needing to use it and just stand there fully clothed in an awkward or weird position waiting for her MIL to open the door. The OP wasn’t waiting in vain as MIL barged in as expected.
MIL walked in on her doing a ballet stand, standing on the toilet and standing facing the wall with her hands up. When the doors would open, she would turn her head and see the confusion in her MIL’s face.
The way the MIL interpreted the woman’s behavior was that she was “practicing rituals in the bathroom” and told that to her son. He wanted to find out what was the meaning of it and when he was told she was doing it on purpose after suspecting MIL was purposefully following her into the bathroom, the man was quite angry.
But he wasn’t angry at his mom, he got annoyed with his wife that she was playing these games and made his mom worry. He thought his wife was being immature and could avoid this problem by simply locking the door.
Her daughter-in-law doesn’t have much to complain about, but she has been walking in on her when she was using the bathroom
Image credits: Positive_Balance3756
People in the comments were offended for the OP that her husband would tell her that, because it wasn’t his wife that was doing something she shouldn’t have, but his mom walking around a house she was a guest in and not even knocking when entering the bathroom. On top of that, she did this multiple times and didn’t learn anything from it.
Later the woman edited the post and informed redditors that her husband and MIL are still upset with her. The husband is demanding an apology and the wife thinks she might have been to blame for not locking the door, but MIL’s behavior was also weird. She is not looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner but at least she could laugh about it on the internet as people in the comments found her response to MIL invading her privacy hilarious.
Her husband didn’t think it was a big deal but the woman suspected that the MIL was doing it on purpose
Image credits: Positive_Balance3756
MILs are known for overstepping boundaries, for sticking their noses into their children’s relationships and wanting to know everything. However, to have a healthy relationship and to make sure you don’t start hating a person, you need to set boundaries.
Vision psychology says, “Boundaries are what help us to keep ourselves and our relationships healthy. They stop us from becoming drained because we are pushing ourselves beyond our limits.”
That’s why she would wait for her MIL to enter the bathroom in a weird or awkward position to confuse her husband’s mom
Image credits: Positive_Balance3756
Although you are setting boundaries to keep a healthy relationship, you may notice that your in-laws are not very happy about them. But experts say that “You are not responsible for making them feel better. Boundaries work only when you remember that you can only control your actions, not the other person’s. The same is true for someone else’s thoughts and feelings.”
However, you should assess what is most important to you and which boundaries are negotiable so you can compromise. Also, know that sticking to them is important so that others will respect them, but you can change them after a while and make them stricter or looser.
The MIL actually thought she was doing weird rituals and told her son, who was furious and demanded to know the real reason, and now both of them are upset with the woman
Image credits: Positive_Balance3756
Various resources online have compiled a list of the most important boundaries to have with your mother-in-law and many of them are quite similar. They mention things like her having to respect that in your house, you have your own rules and that you raise your children as you see fit because you are the parent.
The specific boundaries are unique to every couple, so Live Bold And Bloom suggests looking at these 5 categories and deciding which ones are problematic in your relationship. Those categories are parenting, visitation, vacations, holidays and medical.
Image credits: Marco Verch Professional Photographer (not the actual photo)
The woman in the story probably should include personal space and privacy as well, although you wouldn’t think that such things need to be explained to other adults. The situation with the bathroom may be funny at first glance and people in the comments were joking around about what the OP could do next, but it ended in an argument with both the woman’s husband and MIL.
What did you think about the OP pranking and joking around with her MIL? Do you think she should have just talked with her? Or because it looked like the MIL was doing it on purpose, she deserved it? Let us know in the comments!
People in the comments loved the woman’s idea and were suggesting more ways she could mess with her MIL
So it's ok for his mother to see her naked (guess, because that's just his wife's discomfort and not his mother's?) but not ok for his mother to see her doing something weird IN HER OWN HOUSE (guess, because it's his mother's discomfort and not his wife's?)?
Yeah, it’s hypocritical b******t. The mom is pulling a power play and the husband is enabling.
Load More Replies...She needs to keep this up. Either the mother in law will eventually stop barging in the bathroom or she will get so weirded out that she decides to stay somewhere else. Husband is a total momma's boy who is more concerned about his mother than he is about his wife. He knows why his wife can't lock the door, he needs to figure out why his mother keeps going in the bathroom on his wife. OP might need therapy about that door locking thing. Just so she can feel more secure in her own home.
I'd start doing actual "rituals" with candles and salt and weird shapes. Keep going up a notch until the MIL leaves!
Load More Replies...If possible with the layout of the house I'd go shut the bathroom door and go into a different room. See what MIL does when she gets an empty bathroom. And maybe, if she didn't know which times OP was actually in the bathroom, she would get tired of the game.
And set up a camera. It'll probably catch her turning around and walking away which begs the question "why were you going in then"?
Load More Replies...I've known the bathroom door lock get stuck, and it took dismantling the door handle to free the guest from the bathroom - that took a while (and didn't involve being deliberately locked in) so I can completely understand OP having anxiety about locking/being locked in a bathroom as a result of what her brother did when she was 5. But if this extends to any locked door on a bathroom situation, I can't imagine how OP's ensuring her privacy & safety in a public bathroom, and OP might benefit from therapy. If OP is enjoying wasting her own time pretending to use the bathroom and striking her poses to deal with a deliberately intrusive MIL, then fair play. I do wonder, though, why does MIL think stupid poses = practicing rituals; is it possible that MIL might have a touch of dementia which could be causing her to forget to check if the bathroom is occupied and making it harder to understand OP's actions.
I personally hate locking doors, I have a seizure disorder and it scares me if I'm alone. But in public bathrooms there's normally other people or at least easier access into the stalls.
Load More Replies...The only person who's allowed to wander into the bathroom while it's occupied is the dog. Or the cat. Or the toddler who's too young to know any better. It would serve this creep right if she ended up getting herself front row seats to Symphony Number 5 With An Overture By Last Night's Taco Bell.
The husband should support his wife against his mother - who is bang out of order. We have never had a lock on our bathroom door since the kids were little. Now, if the door is closed YOU FREAKIN KNOCK before cautiously entering. MIL is from cloud-cuckoo land and husband is the a*****e.
I once read that in general, wives will support their husband against their father, but husbands will support their mother against their wife. Perhaps an old-fashioned view but I'm sure it still occurs. In this instance, the *adult* thing to do would be to announce when you're going to use the bathroom, or institute a rule for all that one should knock before entering. Really not that hard to figure out (beyond the world of social media).
Load More Replies...Time to send the hypocritical disloyal douchebag back home with his mommy. Does she walk in on HIM in the bathroom on purpose like she does the wife? Makes you wonder. I like the idea of standing there ready with the camera up to snap when she comes busting in again then immediately posting it to the internet...
Hysterical! I would have done something close to that myself. The red flag here is the husband, since he is not laughing with you and is angry about this, might wanna come up with something crazy to put him in place.
The MIL is WEIRD AF!!!!! Who does that?! Get rid of MIL and the husband. NTA. I can't get over the MIL!!!
I chime in with a 'haven't you people ever heard of, locking the d@mn door, no?'
No, it's much better to face these kind of things, with a sense of poise and rationality.
Load More Replies...So it's ok for his mother to see her naked (guess, because that's just his wife's discomfort and not his mother's?) but not ok for his mother to see her doing something weird IN HER OWN HOUSE (guess, because it's his mother's discomfort and not his wife's?)?
Yeah, it’s hypocritical b******t. The mom is pulling a power play and the husband is enabling.
Load More Replies...She needs to keep this up. Either the mother in law will eventually stop barging in the bathroom or she will get so weirded out that she decides to stay somewhere else. Husband is a total momma's boy who is more concerned about his mother than he is about his wife. He knows why his wife can't lock the door, he needs to figure out why his mother keeps going in the bathroom on his wife. OP might need therapy about that door locking thing. Just so she can feel more secure in her own home.
I'd start doing actual "rituals" with candles and salt and weird shapes. Keep going up a notch until the MIL leaves!
Load More Replies...If possible with the layout of the house I'd go shut the bathroom door and go into a different room. See what MIL does when she gets an empty bathroom. And maybe, if she didn't know which times OP was actually in the bathroom, she would get tired of the game.
And set up a camera. It'll probably catch her turning around and walking away which begs the question "why were you going in then"?
Load More Replies...I've known the bathroom door lock get stuck, and it took dismantling the door handle to free the guest from the bathroom - that took a while (and didn't involve being deliberately locked in) so I can completely understand OP having anxiety about locking/being locked in a bathroom as a result of what her brother did when she was 5. But if this extends to any locked door on a bathroom situation, I can't imagine how OP's ensuring her privacy & safety in a public bathroom, and OP might benefit from therapy. If OP is enjoying wasting her own time pretending to use the bathroom and striking her poses to deal with a deliberately intrusive MIL, then fair play. I do wonder, though, why does MIL think stupid poses = practicing rituals; is it possible that MIL might have a touch of dementia which could be causing her to forget to check if the bathroom is occupied and making it harder to understand OP's actions.
I personally hate locking doors, I have a seizure disorder and it scares me if I'm alone. But in public bathrooms there's normally other people or at least easier access into the stalls.
Load More Replies...The only person who's allowed to wander into the bathroom while it's occupied is the dog. Or the cat. Or the toddler who's too young to know any better. It would serve this creep right if she ended up getting herself front row seats to Symphony Number 5 With An Overture By Last Night's Taco Bell.
The husband should support his wife against his mother - who is bang out of order. We have never had a lock on our bathroom door since the kids were little. Now, if the door is closed YOU FREAKIN KNOCK before cautiously entering. MIL is from cloud-cuckoo land and husband is the a*****e.
I once read that in general, wives will support their husband against their father, but husbands will support their mother against their wife. Perhaps an old-fashioned view but I'm sure it still occurs. In this instance, the *adult* thing to do would be to announce when you're going to use the bathroom, or institute a rule for all that one should knock before entering. Really not that hard to figure out (beyond the world of social media).
Load More Replies...Time to send the hypocritical disloyal douchebag back home with his mommy. Does she walk in on HIM in the bathroom on purpose like she does the wife? Makes you wonder. I like the idea of standing there ready with the camera up to snap when she comes busting in again then immediately posting it to the internet...
Hysterical! I would have done something close to that myself. The red flag here is the husband, since he is not laughing with you and is angry about this, might wanna come up with something crazy to put him in place.
The MIL is WEIRD AF!!!!! Who does that?! Get rid of MIL and the husband. NTA. I can't get over the MIL!!!
I chime in with a 'haven't you people ever heard of, locking the d@mn door, no?'
No, it's much better to face these kind of things, with a sense of poise and rationality.
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