“Alex! Ben! What’s happening?” I yelled, rushing inside.
Eileen barely glanced at me. “Oh, Darla, back so soon? Just a little morning exercise. It builds character.”
“Character? They’re freezing!” I shouted as I wrapped blankets around my trembling boys.
Alex, always eager to please, looked up. “Mom, Grandma says this will make us strong.”
“Strong? This isn’t strength,” I snapped, glaring at Eileen. “What are you doing?”
“They need to toughen up,” Eileen said coldly. “The world isn’t kind, Darla. You coddle them too much.”
My heart broke as I hugged my boys, torn between pleasing their grandmother and seeking comfort.
“We’re leaving. Get your things,” I said firmly.
“But Grandma says we need to finish,” Alex whispered.
“No, sweetie. We’re done here,” I said gently. “You don’t need to do this to be strong.”
Eileen’s face hardened. “You’re making a mistake. Nathan understands discipline.”
“Discipline is one thing. This is something else,” I shot back, gathering my boys and leaving.
On the drive home, I asked the boys more about their visits to Grandma’s. What they revealed stunned me.
“Grandma says it’s training for a tough life,” Ben explained. “We do exercises and sleep with the windows open, even when it’s freezing.”
Alex added quietly, “If we do everything right, we get extra bread or a blanket.”
I couldn’t believe it. How had this gone on without me knowing?
When we got home, Nathan was confused by our early return.
“We need to talk,” I said, trying to stay calm.
I told him everything—the harsh ‘exercises,’ the freezing nights, the twisted discipline.
To my shock, Nathan seemed conflicted. “That’s how my mom raised me. It’s tough, but it works. It’s not abuse.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Our kids are getting sick because of this!”
Nathan rubbed his forehead. “I know it’s hard, but it made me resilient.”
“They’re just kids,” I said, tears welling up. “This isn’t how you teach strength.”
We stood there, locked in silence, divided on how to raise our children. That night, I realized I had to make a choice. I couldn’t allow this to continue, not at the cost of my boys’ well-being.
I knew what I had to do.