Mother’s Day, a day to honor and appreciate moms, can sometimes turn into a mess of mixed feelings and misunderstandings. Family disagreements and unmet expectations can bring unexpected drama, just like in the story of our reader, Lily. Lily’s husband invited his family for Mother’s Day dinner without asking her. Lily, who is 35 years old, wrote to us about a big problem she’s having with her husband and mother-in-law. It’s caused a lot of trouble for their family. She started her letter by saying,

“My husband invited his mom over for Mother’s Day dinner without asking me. I was really mad because I had to cook for 10 people and take care of two kids all at once. I didn’t get to sit down until everyone arrived, and when I finally did, I hardly got to eat because the kids kept asking me for things. Then, I had to clean up all the mess on MY HOLIDAY. My husband always promises to clean up later, but the next day, the mess is still there. I really needed a day where I didn’t have to make everything perfect for everyone else. No one even noticed how stressed I was.”