To be slightly jealous of MIL

[jellymum1704]

It seems to be a season of Mil threads, sorry to dump another one. MIL lives abroad and comes to stay with us 3 months every year . She does help with household chores and looking after 15 month old DS while I work FT. I'm quite grateful as she's a great help generally. However, we're completely different personalities. She can talk a donkey's ears off while I'm more introverted. She likes to be at the centre of attention at a gathering while I prefer company of close friends. When we have people over or get invited over she holds centre stage and I never get in a word with my friends. Note that in my culture it's courtesy to extend invitations to parents as well. I quite hate the fact that she steals the limelight at every opportunity.Guests are forced to be polite while she goes on and on and on. She also makes it a point of displaying her knitting skills at every opportunity in front of our friends and I felt a bit when she gifted a handknitted sweater for our friends DS she barely met once while I got them something store bought. For the record she has never knitted anything for me though she promises to every year. I sound like a jealous shrew but need a vent. My DH says I can learn from her but I barely have energy at the end of the day when I return from work and managing other chores. AIBU to be jealous?

She doesn't sound too bad, no. But she does sound like someone with whom you have absolutely nothing in common, yet have to live with on close quarters for three months a year. And instead of appreciating the strain this places on you, your husband thinks you could emulate the level of devoted service his mummy dedicated to him.

I think most men would like their wives to wait on them as their mothers did. But few would be entitled naive enough to say so. He's lucky his wife is so tolerant of such a selfish tactless suggestion, actually.

Love to know how many previous posters would agree to have their own MIL moving in for a month, let alone three. Vent away - it does sound tough, lovely woman or not, she's not someone you've grown up with and nor is she someone you have chosen. Yet you are expected to love, respect and "learn from" her.

I have pointed out in the past when dh told me about the way his mother did things, that he perhaps should have married her and not me. As he had married me, he had to put up with how I did things.

She sounds exhausting!
Extroverts can be tiring to us introverts though and I know that as much as I love one extrovert friend to bits I can only stand her company for a couple of hours when she's in full flow (no doubt she would say similar about me). How you manage longer than that of it in one go is beyond me.
As for the knitting, I knit - I like it though and have learnt a few techniques from my MIL who has made some beautiful stuff for family and friends. She won't do adult clothes though because she doesn't have the patience anymore. According to her it's better to knit 3 baby cardigans and still have the will to live by the end than knit one adult jumper and want to launch it across the room half way through
After my attempt at a jumper I can see her point...