I would never have guessed that among my family members there are petty people who are ready to extort money even from their own family and friends.
I tried to look at this situation from a different perspective, but I still can't understand this behavior. My only daughter tied her life to a childhood friend. I've known his family for a long time too, we lived on the same street and our children often spent time together.
Then their family moved out, but life brought our children back together. Now my daughter is doing well, they recently bought a car and almost paid off the loan for it, and their daughter is two years old. My daughter and her husband are now thinking about their own apartment, they want to take out a mortgage, but for now they live in a rented apartment. My son-in-law has golden hands, which is rare among young people these days. He knows electronics, technology and repairs, he can fix almost anything.
Thanks to these skills, he often has an additional income. For a small fee, he performs high-quality repairs for his friends and fixes broken devices. My daughter is not far behind and even on maternity leave she manages to earn money. She trained as an eyelash extension specialist and now sees clients at home. As soon as my granddaughter starts kindergarten, my daughter plans to work in a beauty salon and continue her education.
On days when my daughter works, she brings her granddaughter to me. I usually never refuse. If I have some things planned for that day, I either postpone them or take my granddaughter with me. I believe that families should help each other. And grandchildren, in my opinion, are the universal love of all grandparents, and I simply adore my granddaughter.
I spend almost the entire summer on my plot. I usually take my granddaughter with me. For me, it's more fun, and young parents can do their own thing and take a break from their child. My daughter and her husband also like to visit the plot, and in the summer they come for weekends to barbecue and relax in the countryside. Sometimes they stay for 2-3 days. There is a forest, a river, fresh air. At the end of the summer, I decided to ask my son-in-law to help me renovate the gazebo. The kids also like to spend time there, so I thought it would be better for everyone.
“No problem, I'll do it,” my son-in-law told me. “We agreed that I would pay for all the building materials. “I'll buy the materials myself and bring the bills,” he said. My son-in-law did everything he could. I couldn't be happier with the work he had done, but my joy didn't last long. My son-in-law asked me if I was happy with his work. I said I was.
I'm not talking about the money for the materials, because I paid for all the building materials myself, so that's out of the question. He wanted me to pay him for the renovation. To say I was surprised is an understatement. When his parents needed re-wallpapering or help bringing in and assembling new furniture, my daughter and I helped them for free, not even thinking about taking money for it. I also look after my granddaughter for free, I feed her, sometimes I take him for rides and I don't even think about the money.
I could understand it if it was his only income, but he has a good job and does renovations in his free time. Besides, he also uses my plot of land. Why should I pay him now for something he'll use himself? I wonder if he also billed his parents and brother for helping with repairs in their homes, or if I'm just “special”?
I think it's somehow not human. We're a family, we should stand up for each other, help each other. Now I don't know what to do: should I pay him or tell my daughter what I think about it? I'm afraid of starting a fight, I don't want to ruin their relationship. It's not a big amount, but I just feel uncomfortable with this attitude.
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