My name’s Rachel, I’m 38, and I lost my husband, David, three years ago in a car accident. He wasn’t just my husband; he was everything to me—my best friend, my safe place, and the father of our now 10-year-old son, Caleb. Life since then has been far from easy.

Caleb and I survive solely on his $1,100 survivor benefits each month. It isn’t a lot, but it’s what has kept a roof over our heads and food on the table. I take on small cleaning jobs whenever I can, though that income usually only stretches far enough to cover bills and school supplies.

But the hardest part hasn’t been the financial strain—it’s been dealing with my mother-in-law, Margaret, who is now 64. She has always been distant and cold toward me, even long before David passed away. At one point, she told me I “wasn’t good enough” for her son, and after his death, things only escalated.

She constantly reminds me, “Even after my son died, he still provides, unlike you.” Hearing that never gets easier. And recently, she pushed things even further by insisting she should “manage the money” for Caleb’s future because she “knows what’s best.”

I refused her request—politely at first. But she kept pressing, accusing me of “wasting David’s legacy” and claiming I was “not responsible enough to raise a boy alone.” That was the moment something inside me finally snapped.

I spoke to my son calmly and clearly. I told him, “Your grandma loves you, but she doesn’t always make fair choices. That money is yours, and I’ll protect it: just like your dad would have.”

When Margaret found out what I said, she exploded.

She accused me of “poisoning” Caleb and “turning Caleb against her.” But even after all of that, I don’t regret what I did. I’m done letting her guilt-trip me or try to control our lives. My husband may be gone, but his love still lives on through us—and I won’t let anyone take that away.

Source: brightside.me