I Let My Sister-in-Law Stay in Our Home for Christmas — I Never Imagined What We’d Come Back To

When I agreed to let my sister-in-law stay in our house over Christmas, I genuinely thought I was doing the right thing. A kind thing. A family thing.
I didn’t realize I was handing her the perfect opportunity to destroy our trust.

I’m 34, married to Dave (36), and we have two kids—Max, ten, and Lily, eight. We’re not glamorous people. Our lives are loud, cluttered, and endlessly practical. Soccer shoes pile up by the door. Crumbs live permanently in the minivan. Every week is a blur of lunches, permission slips, and laundry that never truly disappears.

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