My MIL showed up to our housewarming with a list of things she wants us to change about the house
We moved into our first home six weeks ago. We were so excited, spent months looking, finally found something we loved, and last weekend threw a small housewarming with close family. Maybe 15 people total.
My mother in law arrived with a gift bag and also, apparently, opinions. Within the first 20 minutes she had commented that the kitchen layout was "inefficient," that we should have gotten a house with a bigger yard, and that the guest bedroom color (a perfectly normal dark green) looked like a "hospital waiting room." I let it go because family gathering, whatever.
Then after dinner she pulls out her phone and goes "I made some notes while I was looking around, just some things you might want to think about." She had a list. An actual list. Seven items. Things like "the bathroom needs better ventilation" and "the basement stairs feel unsafe" and my personal favorite "the backyard fence will need to be replaced within 5 years probably."
My husband kind of laughed it off and said "thanks mom" and moved on. Later I asked him if that was normal and he said "she does this, just ignore it." Which maybe is fine advice but also I am standing in my own home that we saved for and chose together and his mother has handed me a critique document. I didn't say anything at the time. I smiled, I was a good host. But I'm still thinking about the list four days later, which probably tells me everything I need to know about how I actually feel about it.