Woman Says Mother-in-Law's 'New Thing' Is to Text Her While at Work — Then Shares Reason Behind Messages (Exclusive)
"Twice a week she'll text and be like, 'I'm free if you want the kids to get dropped off.' ... Girl. You don't have to ask me twice," Erin Monroe says
A woman is going viral on TikTok after sharing her "biggest flex in motherhood:" her mother-in-law, who generously has her three kids come over after school twice a week, even cooking for the entire family before sending them home.
"The new thing my mother-in-law likes to do is text me while I'm at work, and ask me if I want the kids to get off the bus at her house," Erin Monroe says in the video she shared on social media, adding that her mother-in-law also offers "to make dinner for us" while the kids are over.
She continues: "Twice a week she'll text and be like, 'I'm free if you want the kids to get dropped off.' ... Girl. You don't have to ask me twice."
"Not only does that mean that I can get home from work, have my little workout — today I went for a walk with my husband, alone — but this woman is such a good cook."
"My biggest flex in motherhood is my mother-in-law, 100%," Monroe says.
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Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Monroe says her mother-in-law's name is Carrie, though her three kids (ages 5, 9 and 11) call her "Kiki."
"My mother in law helps us out every week," Monroe, who lives in upstate New York, says. "She has been helping me mother since I became a mom 11 years ago. She’s always been there when I needed her."
While in-laws are often portrayed as having difficult relationships with the partners of their children, Monroe says that couldn't be further from the case with Carrie.
"My mother in law’s help and support means the world to me. I truly believe her support makes my marriage stronger and helps me thrive in motherhood," she says. "Without her we wouldn’t get the date nights or weekends away to reconnect. As a working mother, she’s always there when I can’t be."
Monroe continues: "Most of all, she is there because she wants to be. She loves my kids so much and she loves me and she wants to be with them and grow that relationship with them and they adore her."
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The notorious "Monster-in-Law" trope simply doesn't apply to them, Monroe says, because "Our relationship comes from a place of deep respect and honoring each other’s boundaries. We are on the same team and we want the same things for our family."
And while Monroe, her husband and their kids don't spend every day with "Kiki," they like to plan each day as if they will.
"I think she knows how much we love her, we always set six places at the dinner table just in case Kiki wants to join us," she says.
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