Okay, so here’s the deal. My daughter-in-law, Rachel, has two children from her previous marriage, plus a baby she shares with my son, David. Now, Rachel has asked me to watch the kids a few times before, and while I don’t mind helping out, it’s starting to feel like l’m expected to do it all the time without any sort of acknowledgment or compensation.One day, she asked me again to watch the kids while she worked. I thought, well, I’m always watching her older two kids, so l decided to set a boundary this time. I said, “I’ll watch my grandson, but you’ll have to pay me if I’m babysitting your other two.” I didn’t think it was a huge ask-I’ve watched them for free before,

but they’re really difficult, and I feel like I’m just being taken for granted. Rachel went quiet, and avoided eye contact.I figured maybe she was a little surprised, but I didn’t think much of it.The next day, when I arrived at her house, my jaw dropped-what I found there shook me to the core. I walked up to the front door and noticed something was off. I tried using my keys to open the door, but they wouldn’t work. I thought maybe I had the wrong key, but nope-the lock had been changed. I knocked a few times, but no one answered. I texted Rachel and called, but she didn’t pick up. It felt like I was being completely shut out, like she was avoiding me on purpose.