“For 15 Years, We Built Our Dream Home: Now Our Daughter Wants It for Her and Her Fiancé”

My husband, John, and I have always been small-town folks. We grew up in the same town, went to the same high school, and even got married in the local church. For as long as I can remember, we’ve dreamed of building our own home—a place where we could grow old together, surrounded by the tranquility of nature.

Fifteen years ago, we finally started making that dream a reality. We bought a piece of land on the outskirts of town, a beautiful plot with a view of the rolling hills and a small creek running through it. It was perfect. We spent every weekend working on the house, pouring our blood, sweat, and tears into every nail and every brick.

The process was slow. We didn’t have a lot of money, so we did most of the work ourselves. John learned how to lay bricks and install plumbing, while I took on the task of painting and decorating. It was exhausting, but it was also incredibly rewarding. Every time we completed a new section of the house, we felt a sense of pride and accomplishment that made all the hard work worth it.

After fifteen long years, our dream home was finally complete. It wasn’t a mansion by any means, but it was ours. A cozy two-story house with a wraparound porch, a big kitchen where I could bake my famous apple pies, and a garden where John could grow his vegetables. We were happy.

But then our daughter, Emily, came to us with a request that shattered our happiness. She had recently gotten engaged to her boyfriend, Mark, and they were looking for a place to live. Emily asked if we would consider giving them our house as a wedding gift.

At first, I thought she was joking. But when I saw the serious look on her face, I realized she meant it. John and I were stunned. We had invested so much time and effort into building this home—it was more than just a house to us; it was a symbol of our love and hard work.

We tried to explain this to Emily, but she didn’t seem to understand. She argued that she and Mark needed a place to start their life together and that our house would be perfect for them. She even suggested that we could move into a smaller place in town or maybe even an apartment in the city.

The thought of leaving our dream home was heartbreaking. John and I had planned to spend our retirement years here, enjoying the peace and quiet of the countryside. The idea of moving into a cramped apartment in the city was unthinkable.

But Emily was persistent. She kept bringing up the subject every time she visited, making us feel guilty for not wanting to help her out. She even enlisted Mark’s parents to talk to us, hoping they could convince us to change our minds.

The pressure became unbearable. John and I started arguing more frequently, something we had rarely done before. The stress was taking a toll on our health and our relationship. We felt trapped between our love for our daughter and our attachment to our home.

In the end, we made the difficult decision to keep our house. It wasn’t an easy choice, and it strained our relationship with Emily. She was hurt and disappointed, and she made it clear that she felt we were being selfish.

John and I are still living in our dream home, but it doesn’t feel the same anymore. The joy and pride we once felt have been overshadowed by guilt and sadness. Our relationship with Emily is strained, and we rarely see her now.

Sometimes I wonder if we made the right decision. But deep down, I know that giving up our home would have broken us even more.