Source: Reddit
I (23F) moved in with my in-laws a little over a year ago after getting married. I have a SIL who is 14, my MIL and their maid who are all menstruating.
MIL finds it “shameful” to discuss menstrual cycles or anything period related. We had an argument when I called my husband to tell him I ran out of pads and she saw him enter the house with a bag of them. Apparently he shouldn’t even know what they are let alone be purchasing them for me.
SIL started her cycle shortly after I moved in. MIL is going through menopause and so is their maid. All of this to say they all have irregular cycles. Mine is regular, frequent and heavy…I can easily get through 14 heavy duty pads in a day.
Over the past 9 months I realised that every time I needed pads there were none left or they were down to one or two. I realised everyone else was using my pads instead of buying their own. I spoke to the other women in the house and explained that I appreciate that they might get caught short but if they could replace the pads or at least tell me they had run low so I would have some.
Every 3 weeks it’s the same thing, I never have pads even though I had at least a few when my cycle ended. So I bought a mini storage locker thing and put it in my en suite bathroom and I have the only key. (This is also where the pads were anyway, so basically they were rifling through our bedroom frequently to access them.)
SIL found out the hard way and tattled to MIL who went off on me for being self centred and unsympathetic. I told her I was tired of being taken advantage of and if she was so worried about her daughter then she should actually take steps to provide for her.
She dragged husband into it too and said she would throw me out if I don’t apologise for my comments and action. He reminded her that we move out in 2 months anyway and that if she wants me out then we will gladly leave early.
She backed down but there is a tension between the in-laws and husband & I, with them giving us the silent treatment. Maybe I should not have locked my pads away? Did I go too far here?
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