Recently, my vaccinated SIL told us she tested positive for Covid and wanted to let us know. Her and her 2 year old son had to be hospitalized because even though she’s vaccinated, she was having severe breathing complications and her son was in a very dire state. For a short period of time, we genuinely thought he might die, but luckily they’ve both stabilized and just have to spend the holidays in the hospital under observation.

I mentioned to my MIL (that we only see around the holidays because we still like my SO’s sister and see her during those times) via text that we wouldn’t be visiting after all because of SIL contracting Covid and the fact that MIL was around SIL the entire time and even was with her the same day that SIL’s test came back positive so that she’s an exposure risk for us. She threw a fit about this, but said fine in the end.

I also mentioned in passing before she threw her tantrum how much this sucked because SIL loves sweet potato casserole and never gets it because no one ever makes it for her and that I had bought some expensive bourbon and vanilla maple syrup specifically to make it for her, but even though she’s stabilized now, she couldn’t taste it anyway even if someone brought her some. That’s when MIL said SIL and her son deserved to get Covid because SIL was already ruining the holidays by being selfish.

The reason why SIL is being selfish, you might ask?

Her SO’s recently widowed mother wanted to see them for a couple hours during Thanksgiving before SIL visited her own parents.

MIL doesn’t even wake up and start cooking before noon on Thanksgiving and SIL would have been back by then, but MIL is such an awful, petty, self centered person that she wished death on her own daughter and grandson instead of having a heart and sharing her daughter for a few hours with a woman who’s spending the holidays alone for the first time since her husband died. She said this was well deserved karma and that hopefully this teaches SIL that family is everything in life. Apparently SIL’s SO’s family doesn’t count, I guess.

Jokes on MIL though, because SO and I agreed that we won’t ever be visiting for the holidays again after that horrific comment and will just visit SIL instead. SIL also won’t be visiting her mother anymore because I forwarded her the awful text message. Guess MIL will just have to spend all the holidays alone from now on and maybe this will teach her a lesson that you should cherish the people you supposedly love.

Edit: In case anyone was wondering why I texted my MIL and not my SO; it’s actually super simple. My SO often gets into shouting matches with his mother and it’s easier for me to be the one who makes limited, non face to face contact with her. She’s always been very manipulative towards my SO ever since he was a small child and it took nearly a year and the combined efforts of myself and his best friends to break her hold over him.

He was never ‘on her side’ or anything like that, but often times after putting his foot down, setting boundaries and telling her no, he would feel horrible about it because MIL and FIL would bombard him with voicemails and text messages saying how shitty of a son he is to the woman who birthed and raised him and that he owes it to her to just shut up and give her what she wants. It would really make him feel like a shitty son and that he was a bad person for how she acted.

He genuinely thought this was a normal family dynamic until his friends and I blatantly sat him down and spelled out her abuse towards him and how it’s not normal or right for her to act the way she does. It was hard for him to understand, let alone accept, that his mother had been emotionally, verbally and mentally abusing him all his life and that her definition of ‘love’ and ‘family’ were sick and twisted. He eventually came to terms with it and now despises his mother and only previously put up with her for his sister.

Good thing that farce is over now that SIL hates her mother too! Good riddance to the trash being taken out. I’ve never liked this vile woman and I’m happy to never have to see her ugly face again.