To ask for your stories of control freakery within the in-law circuit?

[ControlFreakAvoidant]

SIL does my bloody head in. Whenever there is a plan in place she has to wade in and take control- doesn't matter who has arranged something or what for she is always unwilling to do anything she hasn't fully planned herself & will never make herself available if it isn't entirely her choice of venue, company, food etc. Most recently a chat made with a group of us to take someone suffering a bereavement to a spa hotel has become her changing the entire plan and budget for a city break involving drinking and stuff she wants to do...not just a suggestion, fully expecting everyone in the chat who was quite happy with the existing plan to change for her. Everyone is polite and has told her we are doing the first plan and now she is claiming to be skint ( she isn't, what she had suggested would cost way more ). I'm so blooming bored of dealing with such a self centred control freak & she has been like it for years. After some solidarity here, anyone else's in-laws like this?

Call her out on it every time “aww sorry to hear you’re skint - good job we didn’t agree to do that city break if you can’t afford it now”

Omg good idea lol! One of the other people in the chat said well then you wont be able to afford either trip will you? It's so annoying!

I'm glad my DC are older now, and they can arrange seeing their grandparents without our input. They're far too involved with all their DC and like to micromanage everything even if it doesn't effect them in any way.

One weekend MIL called and asked if we had plans, all we were doing was taking the dog up to the woods before lunch. She invited herself and FIL along, then called back to say they weren't keen on the woods, we're going to the local park instead but after lunch, and maybe don't bring the dog as he's not allowed in the play area anyway. She was surprised when I declined as I had to walk the dog.

Solidarity. Mine is like that. Controlling, petty, underhand, sneery…and that’s just her good side! Sorry I’m not feeling very charitable today as she’s just caused more major upset. Is it your partner’s sister or your brother’s/sister’s wife?

Trust wtaf was she thinking? I think these people are incapable of ever considering that other people's ideas are you know.. more likely to be what the want to do? SIL always thinks she knows best, we could be going to the zoo and she will decide she wants to go to the cinema instead. Drives me absolutely crazy. She is also really bad for insisting all family gifts are always thoughtless 'everyone chip in' type and on the odd occasion DH an I have already sorted a gift she always gets really put out and is quite rude. Partly out of control, partly because she doesn't think she should ever have to spend a pound in something she hasn't decided she wants to spend herself. I don't know the solution really, just so tiresome.

Sneery is the right word😂 It makes everything tricky to plan. She is DH's sister but he finds her more annoying than I do. I have no problems with any of ny other in-laws, all lovely but nobody stands up to her really, they all act like it's a charming quirky when she's bossing everyone about.