MIL visit - one way ticket
My husband and I live several hundred miles away from his mother and only visit her every year or two. She retired in her early fifties and is financially set for life. Her personality is extremely passive/passive aggressive and claims total ignorance when any extremely inconsiderate behavior is brought to her attention. My husband loves his mother and lets most issues slide, he doesn't want to cause any friction whatsoever. She has only been here to visit twice, many years ago when we were just starting out. Her last visit was when we were still living in a small one bedroom apartment. She brought her daughter and two grandchildren to stay for a week. Six people and a dog in a one bedroom was absolute hell. It never occurred to her to possibly stay in a hotel/motel. She also came on that trip with no cash, only a credit card which she refused to use for small purchases. She finally borrowed $100 from my husband after he and her daughter got tired of hearing that she had no cash and could they please pay. Over the years I've learned that cheap and inconsiderate is standard mode of operation for her when my husband and I are involved. Other family members receive laptops, televisions, trips to Disney, etc. as gifts, my husband receives a pair of jeans and a sweater for Christmas. Our newborn has received a single onesie from dear old grandma, although she has said she would reimburse us for a swing.
My current problem is that we invited my MIL to visit for a week to see her newborn grandchild. This is our first child and we are just learning the ropes. We didn't set any dates for her visit, our only request was that she wait a few weeks following the birth for us to establish some sort of routine. It's now approaching two months following the birth and she finally let us know that she had booked a flight. The problem being that she has only booked a one-way flight. She's using a free round trip airline ticket that she received from being bumped from a flight during vacation earlier this year. Her reply when asked why she didn't book a flight home was that because it is a free ticket, she can book a return flight a day in advance when needed. My husband didn't push the issue on a return date. He feels that since he only invited her for a week, that she'll only be staying for a week. Based on past behavior, I have my doubts. I can't comprehend why anyone wouldn't book a round trip flight from the start. We both work, I'll be returning from maternity leave during her visit and need to commit to daycare for our child. My husband will also be taking time off during her visit. It's near impossible to plan for daycare and vacation time when you don't have any set date for return. I've asked my husband to push for a date, but he hasn't yet. I'm sure he is avoiding any sort of conflict with her, heaven forbid she get offended that we want to know when she is leaving. My current plans are to move forward as if she were only staying for a week. Any thoughts on how to handle this without coming across as the evil DIL?