Woman Defies Mother-in-Law, Tells Her She Won’t Be Cooking Thanksgiving Meal After Working 12-Hour Shift

Juggling holiday traditions with real-life responsibilities isn’t always simple.

In a Reddit post, a woman explained that a few weeks before Thanksgiving, her husband let her know his parents were hoping to come visit for the holiday.

“They live far away so he wanted to check with me before telling them yes. I gave the go ahead and they booked flights,” she wrote.

Closer to Thanksgiving, her mother-in-law called to ask if it would be a “burden” for her to cook for four people instead of just two. That’s when the poster explained she actually wouldn’t be cooking at all — she was scheduled to work a 12-hour shift from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Instead, she suggested ordering in or going out to eat. Her mother-in-law, however, became “angry” and insisted that Thanksgiving required a home-cooked meal. The poster stood firm, repeated that she would not be cooking, and ended the call.

Later, her in-laws called back together to revisit the topic.

“Well MIL and FIL called me together tonight to discuss Thanksgiving. MIL insisted that I needed to prioritize a meal for Thanksgiving, suggesting I get up early to prep things, set the rolls out to rise, and put things in crock pots before work. Then right when I get home I could finish cooking and we could eat at 7:30,” she wrote.

“I asked what they and my husband (who has the day off) would be doing all day. MIL said she could check on things and make sure nothing got burned while I was gone,” she added.

At that point, her husband jumped in, took over the call and tried to calm things down by telling his mother he missed her cooking and wanted to learn how to make her recipes.

“She got so excited and they made plans to prep and cook every single meal for the visit together ‘so he could learn’ her cooking style. He’s at the store buying everything on her list,” the woman wrote.

She said she was grateful to her husband for stepping up and shifting the focus.

“The woman noted that she’s thankful for her husband ‘putting his family in their place and protecting me.'”

“I especially appreciate him turning the attention to him instead of defending me for not cooking and making me the ‘bad guy,'” she continued. “I am the breadwinner and still they always expect me to cook and clean for my husband who works less hours and makes less money, but I am the wife so that’s my job.”

“I just am not sure I am going to survive the next 5 days,” she added.

Commenters on Reddit largely sided with her and praised her husband’s response.

“You are very patient and kind to even entertain any of this. I’m glad your husband is handling it as he should,” one person wrote.

Another added, “Your husband is a quick thinker and managed to keep the peace. Because my first thought would have been exactly what you said — order out or go out. And I probably would not have been very quiet about telling my mother-in-law what I do in my house is my business. She is welcome to visit or not. Yeah, my advice would have only escalated things so kudos to your husband‘s cool head.”