When my mother-in-law, Diane, demanded a key to our house, claiming it was what good daughters-in-law do, I realized she had no concept of boundaries. Diane, a charming woman who always had a way of making people feel comfortable, turned into a control freak when it came to her son. From giving unsolicited parenting advice to barging into our home without warning, she seemed to think that her son’s marriage was an extension of her own life.

The real trouble started after I got pregnant. Diane constantly made intrusive comments about my pregnancy and even rearranged our furniture while we were at work. But it was when she walked in on me breastfeeding that I finally snapped. It was too much.One day at brunch, Diane casually demanded a key to our house. I was speechless. Josh suggested we just give in to keep the peace, so I came up with a plan. The next week, I handed Diane a small gift box with a shiny brass key inside. She was thrilled, thinking she’d won, but I had other plans.

The following weekend, as Josh and I were out, I got an alert on my phone. Diane was at our front door, struggling to unlock it. I smiled and told her the key was to Josh’s old bedroom at her house, not ours. No more unannounced visits. Later, Josh texted her that visits would now be by invitation only.