Another MIL thread

[EvilTwins]

It was my birthday yesterday. MIL sent me a voucher for Boots. Not my first choice, but fair enough. She's just phone and told me that it's so I can go and buy some Oil of Olay.

AIBU to think if it's a birthday present I should bloody well be able to choose for myself what to buy?

Obviously I said thank you very much and will ignore her instructions.

This is their habit though- they gave us money as a wedding present and then told us what we were allowed and not allowed to spend it on.

perhaps you mentioned you wanted some and she didn't actually want to buy you the aging cream for your birthday !

If thats not what you want then buy what you want and if needs be lie

Sounds mild to me. Perhaps she's heard Olay is good and sees it as an example of a treat. So it's a suggestion rather than a prescription? - had you discussed Olay before?

< hopeful >

For her birthday, I would return the voucher and tell her about the special offer on laxatives (as she seems full of it!!)

How f*king rude!!!

We've never discussed it. I'm actually allergic to it. I know she uses it though.

She just likes to do this kind of thing - send a "gift" and then tell you what to do with it. She does the same for DH and the DCs too. Sends a cheque/money/voucher, and just as we were thinking "that's nice, we'll get a..." she phones with specific instructions.

Wedding money was not to be spent on anything for the house, or on anything to do with our honeymoon, or on something which could be used up rather than kept.

What happens if you spend it on something else?

Just ignore her and spend it on what you like. Its not that big a deal.

...About Oil of Olay, I had a great aunt that swore for it, it was the elixir of life, what would get you into old age without a wrinkle in sight. To her credit, she looked way younger than her age so she managed to convince me that the first thing I should get when I had enough money was a bottle of it... I was 14 back then.

Now, at my current age, I'm fully convinced that the only thing that could get me into old age without wrinkles is a face transplant...

So don't take it personally, she may be fully convinced she has found the Truth and is willing to share it with you

BTW, my evil ex MIL paid my ex money so she could get the wedding she wanted... for us.

Looking back, I realise that I should have left the man there and then rather than wasting a decade of my life waiting for him to change...

Re. the wedding money, what on earth were you supposed to spend it on? I can only think of dentures off the top of my head.

I kind of get where she's going with it. She could have just sent you the olay but might have been expensive to post or wanted you to pick a certain one. Same with the wedding maybe she wanted you to use it on somethign special but didn't want to choose for you.. but annoying all the same.