Living With In-Laws Is As Close To Hell As You’re Going To Get

Living with anyone against your will after the age of 18 sucks major ass. Once you’re a big, grown-up adult, you’re probably going to move out and get a roommate. While I have my share of bad roommate stories (and I’ve been a bad roommate myself), that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about that time in your life when you have to rely on the help of others and possibly, maybe, move back under your parents’ roof.

In my case, it was my in-laws. I am forever grateful to them for opening their doors to my family when we were in between selling and closing on a house. When we sold our condo two and a half years ago, it took us forever to find a buyer. When someone finally expressed interest in our run-down condo that our realtor insisted was in a hot, hot, hot location (LIAR!), their offer came with strings attached.

The interested buyer said that we had to be out of our condo in just a few weeks, or no deal. From what our realtor said, normal closing takes at least twice as long, up to a few months. Since we couldn’t say no to any housing offer that came our way, we said yes. This left us with a three week gap before we could close on our new house.

I prayed to the Lord and the God of Real Estate to please, please, please let the closing on our new house finish early. Of course, it finished even later than we expected. My in-laws were happy to let us stay for a few weeks, and they are truly nice people to be around. I felt very blessed to have laid-back, accommodating in-laws who supported us during this transition period.

BUT! BUT! I absolutely hated living in someone else’s house. With a baby. It was super awkward because there was no true way to relax since we were all hanging out together 24/7. We also had to cram my oldest son into my in-laws’ office as his temporary nursery. Everyone was squished. I’m sure we were all getting on each other’s nerves. By the end of the three weeks, they were more than happy to see us go.

I know what I am describing is as #firstworldproblems as it’s going to get. I know some couples live with their in-laws for much longer because of housing or monetary issues. Let me just say, in my brief experience with shared living, I feel your pain. Living with in-laws is a little too close for comfort. Let’s hope we never have trouble selling our house again.

(Image: Gladskikh Tatiana/Shutterstock)