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Opened a box in my head and all this spilled out.

Major Blunder's picture

This is going to be allllll over the place so I apologize now and thanks to anyone who actually reads the whole thing and can make heads or tails of it.

I read a lot of posts on here without commenting, sometimes I have nothing to add due to lack of experience, sometimes others have already said what I would have so why repeat it, still other times I question the validity of the OP, first post, sounds really familiar, etc etc etc., and still other times the post itself or the comments are very shall we say “male negative”, I completely understand that this is a female heavy site but there are certain posters with very negative opinions of the male gender so I tend to avoid those the very best I can.  I don’t always disagree with their view of certain aspects of the male gender but sometimes the digital beatdown gets to be a bit much for me.

It has been mentioned that I don’t talk much about DW, and I guess that is true.  I could probably go on and on about how she does this or that or doesn’t do this or that, how I wish she would do things differently or how I would do things differently but I guess that mostly I feel sorry for her, her children have caused us both so much pain and still she holds on to them, it’s something I can’t understand.  Sure she has hurt me as well be enabling and allowing them to do what they  did, but they did it to her as well, that pain of a biochild hurting you must run much deeper, right?

I could call her stupid, thickheaded, “just doesn’t get it”, etc etc , I just don’t see the point, she did nothing knowlingly out of malice, all she has done is the best she can for her children as she knows how, saying she could have done it differently is closing the barn door after the horse is out.

Stuff happens just about everyday concerning one or both skids or the gskids ( I have to keep reminding myself these are gskids not GC’s), sometimes I think about writing about something that happened but then I read a few other posts and my issue feels small and petty, so I don’t and sit and stew in my depression and anger all alone, I need to post more, even the little stuff.

I came to this site very late in the Step Game and very jaded and negative, I felt lost, angry, depressed, failed and very alone.  The one thing that I did have was hope that the love I had for my Skids was something that I could hold onto and build from, they have worn me down even so much more since I came to the site that I feel like that love has turned sour into hatred and wish I could change that, I have turned to prayer for help with that since I can’t do it on my own, and I sucking up a storm on that one.

I also have to question everything I have done in skids life, what could I have done differently, how much of their attitude towards me now is due to my own actions and or attitude towards them, once again it’s a mute point as the past is the past but still how much am I to blame?

I have fear of the future, that gskids will wind up behaving the same as the skids towards me one day no matter how I try to learn from the past, it makes me wonder if I shouldn’t just disengage now and avoid the pain that is possible to come or will that just be a self fulfilling prophecy then.

DW and I are on the same page concerning SD26, who by the way was released from jail yesterday on a PR bond ( way to go justice system), that she is toxic, a liar, a thief and will probably never change, although I am sure DW hopes that she will one day and holds on to that.

We are not on the same page about SD20, DW continues to enable her and not hold her accountable for her lack of respect, regard or appreciation.  In fact the only thing she wants to tell me about SD20 is things that SD20 is doing that DW either believes is a good thing or SD20 suppossively did.  If SD20 cleans the kitchen once a month DW holds her up like a prized pig, never mind the other days where she did absolutely nothing. Over the weekend DW stated that SD20 applied for a managers position at her job, I said nothing because all I could think was, “it will never happen or if it does it won’t last” and “ oh does that mean she will move out soon then?”  All comments I had to keep in my head.

  I mentioned that SD20 was in our house when we were away and she was told not to be in there, she was scolded by DW but no repercussions at all.  SD20 continues to just do basically what she wants with zero responsibility.  I complain about her leaving lights on, she continues to do so, I made a comment about her just having friends come over without asking if it is ok, nothing.  DW was either there or knew about both and says nothing, just acts like there is nothing she can do about it.  I understand she is afraid of losing another daughter as she says but when does she get tired of being taken advantage of?  She may refuse to do this or that but still she allows other stuff, I just don’t get it.

I know I have rambled on here and most of this is disconnected and disjointed so if you read this far I appreciate that.

I’m not feeling very good about life today, I miss looking forward to things, I miss enjoying things, I miss having friends, I miss having hope, I guess I just miss life in general.

 

Comments

beebeel's picture

Well this is sad to read, but not surprising. You have dealt with the trifecta of Stephell for a long, long time.

It's clear you deeply love your wife, warts and all. Have you tried marraige counseling to attempt to be on the same page concerning all of the kids? Being partners doesn't mean your wife can pick and choose when she wants to be a team.

Major Blunder's picture

I have brought up counseling a few times to no avail, basically with us not only time is an issue but also finances and i have also found that with things like this she has to come to the conclusion that it is something we need, if I bring it up she becomes very defensive about it and it never happens.

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Major, NOTHING is too small or petty. These are things that affect YOU, you want to vent, and that's all that matters.

Even if you WERE to blame for any part of the disasters that are the SDs, you cannot change the past. Besides, those girls are past effective parenting (IMO). 1) Because your DW will not, and 2) the mold is set. MAYBE they will change their ways, but that is something they have to do for themselves. If you feel guilty about what you did in the past, try to be the best-est step-grandpa you can be.

I'm willing to be that your DW IS afraid of losing another daughter and that's why she lets everything slide and is gaga over the teeniest thing. Only your DW can determine her own breaking point with SD20. And it may never come for her. What would happen if you didn't complain and simply asked DW to pick up SD20's slack? "Honey, could you turn off that light?" Admittedly, I'm clueless. I let DH pick up the SS's slack until he got tired of it and made them do it. But they were/are kids, so it's not the same.

Major. I'm so sorry you're feeling down. I hope you realize that you are a damn good man and have value. You're taking care of the gskids - you don't have to do that. You have a wicked sense of humor and I, for one, very much appreciate it. And even if you think your opinion has no value, it DOES. It's another point of view, an affirmation that more than one poster feels the same about an idea.

I honestly think you and your DW need to find a way to get some quality ADULT time. Are there free/cheap activities you could do? Even a picnic - outdoors or nekkid in the living room! - with just the two of you. I'd come gskid sit for free, if I could. {{{HUGS}}}

Major Blunder's picture

Thanks Aniki, I figuired you would chime in here.  I can always count on you and a few others to try and lift me up.

I do have DW pick up SD's slack quite often, but other times I have no choice but to do it myself, filthy dishes sitting in the kitchen tend to attract little creatures I don't want in my home.

Quality adult time is hard to come by, I don't mind paying for a night out and we can afford that at times, it's the not having anyone to take the little ones for more than a couple of hours, especially the baby.  DW has one brother here still reeling from a messy divorce he didn't ask for, and her parents are in their 70's, they'll take the 8 yo overnight but not the baby and don't blame them.  All of my family lives far away or my sisters would help out there.

We barely get nekkid in the bedroom let alone the living room   lol   To tired, to much to do, don't wanna wake the baby ( DW gets umm vocal??? )  TMI   lol

Aniki-Moderator's picture

Hey, we're here for each other!! To share our stories, vent, get advice, get a virtual hug, feel human again... Smile

Vocal? Try a gag. LOL Diablo

Rags's picture

Waking the gskids! lol  When DW and I were first dating she had a 1br apartment and SS’s crib was at the foot of her bed.  24+ years later we still laugh our butts off upon occasion when the memory surfaces of SS standing in his crib holding on to the top rail, his eyes barely peeping between his hands giving me the “Dude! What are doing to my mom?” look.  Apparently  we woke him up.  *pardon*

Kids should never limit the affection that the adults in the family have for each other.  Walking in on my parents never did me any harm and it never harmed our son either.

Tune up that living room!

 

amyburemt's picture

Major,

In one of your above paragraphs you stated that compared to some, your issues seem small and petty. When there are many small and petty issues, they build up over time, and it slowly leads to bitterness, depression, anxiety etc. so don't ever discount the issues in your house as small and petty. I was really down about a year ago dealing with one of my skids and it felt like there was nothing positive around me. But that was just from my viewpoint. So I started with small steps like taking my dog for a walk, working on small projects outside by myself, planting some flowers etc. At night it can be as small as drinking a cup of coffee completely by myself in a quiet place for 5 minutes. I didn't tackle anything big because It would just cause me to become frustrated if I didn't finish it. The key was small projects, small steps. I think you should take some time out each day to do something small that you can finish in a small amount of time. 

As for your skids, there isn't much you CAN do. I have a sibling who has been in/out of jail and my parents completely enable it. They are senior citizens and he has robbed them blind and they still let him back into the house. Sooo frustrating yet nothing I can do about it. And I don't get why they do half of what they do. I think it's a parent feeling guilty thing and you don't turn your back on your kids mentality, but my brother is 40.  At some point this became a habit with them and now is the "norm". I will say though, it has destroyed my parents other relationships with other people. Anyway to just reiterate, start small with something that will bring you a small feeling of accomplishment, and realize, you have absolutely no control over your skids or how your wife lets them treat her and if she doesn't have any boundaries set for your house and your rules then she really needs to get a backbone and back you up. 

Major Blunder's picture

Thanks amyburent, I do try to take some time for myself and even DW trys to give that to me when she can, in small doses, not like I'm going to a concert by myself but she does give me some quiet time.  I guess there used to be more and there was the window of more, meaning before we had to take in the Gskids we were seeing a future together without kids everyday in the picture and it was close.  Alot of things we had put off were going to happen, now poof all gone.  I'm still having trouble reconciling that.

disrestep's picture

It seems your DW is a reasonable person and I bet in time she will get tired of being taken advantage of. My DH grew tired of being taken advantage of. It took a while, but he did. It happens, so don't lose hope.

Think of all the things you can look forward to, like when SD adults and moves out of your house. You can have a big party and celebrate that event. 

Take things in baby steps and please take care of yourself and do what is best for you.

Major Blunder's picture

I will celebrate when SD20 moves out, but then I have another ummm 16 years untill GSS turns 18, unless his mother all of a sudden changes her ways and gets her kids back which doesn't seem likely at this point.  But I will be happier once SD20 leaves somewhere within the next decade lol .

ProbablyAlreadyInsane's picture

You're not being petty Major. One of the hardest things in stephe!! is the fact that you're dealing with consequences from actions you never did. You're tkaing a look at things that you didn't cause, and yet you seem to be getting the backlash, whether it's because there's enabling, or no one is willing to help shield and protect you a bit (yes I bleieve men need a bit of protection too, that's part of being partners. It means having eachother's six no matter what's going on.)

Thing just simply build up. I was just telling my little brother this yesterday as well (he's making some iffy decisions involving hormones and a manipulative girl who's going to suck him dry if he lets her). Event hings that might seem small, when nothing is ever done to correct it and it happens again and again, then add on some other seemingly small things, they just simply add up and build up and it frankly sucks. Particularly for the ones in stephe!! that didn't decide to be with the crazy one, are tying their best to prevent the enabling and assist the skids to be productive members of society.

You've taken on a fair bigger burden that most too. With how much you've done for the Gskids in regards to protecting and caring for them. You've had to take on the responsibility because others weren't, and while you OBVIOUSLY love your DW, everyone has a thresh-hold, and it really just seems that it's all built up and you desprately need some changes for YOU. You've dealt with other things for so long it's become the norm, so you need to look after yourself.

You cna't fix the skids, but you and your DW definitley need to work to get on the same page. If you don't it's just going to build up. Major, you're strong as s*** when it comes to handling things, but everyone needs a break and some help. That's part of being in a partnership.

I'm with what everyone else says above. You gotta take care of yourself too. That means the messy emotional side that makes us human as well as the physical and mental side.

Major Blunder's picture

Thanks PA, I agree that men need protecting as well, we might be good at hiding emotions to protect ourselves but we still feel them none the less.  Looking after myself is something I try to do but is difficult when I know that others need me, usually what happens is I get physically down ( from my disability ) and it's my body making me take a break against my will. Not the break I would choose but it happens lol

ProbablyAlreadyInsane's picture

Well everyone needs a break. Plus part of marriage is the partnership part and looking after each other! And manly stubborness doesn't mean you don't need someone else sometimes. 

I'm glad you're taking a look at things. It'll help you take care of yourself! And you're too fantastic to fall by the wayside!!!

ESMOD's picture

Sure, your problems might be smaller than some of the absolute train wrecks on this site... but that doesn't mean that your feelings of frustration are unwarranted.  I mean, just because others have cancer doesn't mean that it sucks to have a bout with the flu! 

I can also see how some of the knee-jerk "men are idiots/ignorant/clueless" comments could make you feel that there is sometimes a little too much man-bashing.  I often say that to a hammer, everything is a nail.  Some people here do apparently have and have had very poor male partners... sometimes it's also clear that the women posting were part of the drama-dynamic.  It also is a bit typical for raising kids and organizing the social aspects of a family fall to the shoulders of women...so when a guy gets divorced... they may not have the experience of the inclination to care for their kids.  Also, many times men are the NCP... which means they have relatively little time with their kids.  I know my DH for sure has said that he doesn't want to spend all of his limited time fussing at his girls.  But, then again, it's like he had only a very concentrated time in person to help raise them.  Now, my DH was pretty good with taking care of his kids, but from some stories on here... it seems that many guys are abdicating this onto their new partners... that is a bit of a stacked deck for the ladies.

I have advised several posters that they are not in the right relationship... that their partners aren't right for them... either they appear to be using the posters... or the posters themselves have such bitterness surrounding the kids that I can't imagine it would be healthy for them to stay with men that have kids who bother them THAT much.

I'm sorry that you and your wife are at odds over some things.  That definitely makes it hard. I think if you can remember to disagree in a respectful way and listen and try to understand the other's point of view... you can get through it. 

Major Blunder's picture

Thanks ESMOD, DW and I rarely fight ( yelling and screaming ), we disagree strongly at times but rarely do we step into the dark side and start yelling, and I have to admitt sometimes I wish we did more of that.  Seeing each others point of view is something we both work on but always come back to the same place for some reason, she feels stuck between me and the skids, I haven't found a viable argument yet to circumvent that one.

Major Blunder's picture

Gim, you're one of my oldest friends on here and thanks for that.  I would actually not mind hearing your darkest thoughts at some point if you would ever want to share.  I have dark stuff in a different box that I didn't open today, that one gets stuffed wayyyyy back in a dusty corner that is hard to reach, but I open it up at least once a day to cuddle with my demons lol

I have suggested al-anon to her but never at the right time I guess for her to think it's a good idea.  She is a part of a GP raising GC page on FB and has begun talking with someone about starting an actual local support group so I am hoping something comes from that since alot of those on the page deal with the same problem of addiction.

UnhappyMom5's picture

i am new to this, and I read yours first because I saw where you wrote how down you felt first off and what I also saw is thinking that your problems weren’t possibly as “ big” as others. I do that quite a bit and have through the years. I hate to even burden anyone with all the drama in my household. It’s embarrassing sometimes and people always say to me now “ why are you still there & why don’t you just take your kids and go” We all have our reasons and mostly it’s the love for our spouse. But don’t ever think your problems aren’t big enough. They don’t have to be big. Anything causing you pain, it’s worth talking about it. No one should be sad and have no one to talk to. I googled and found this today because I feel very alone with my problems and it does get me very sad. Be selfish with yourself. Someone is always out there to listen & understand. 

Major Blunder's picture

First off Welcome Unhappymom5, as you can see from just my post this is a wonderful community of supportive and caring people so I hope you will stick around and share and learn and grow with all of us.  Secondly, thank you for your comment, it is good to learn you are not alone.

Major Blunder's picture

Thanks TX, nahhhh if I were actually ever pushed to offended you would know.  There does seem to be a cycle, can't pinpoint the actual days within the month but it seems that the stupidity of DHs goes up as does the depletion of patience with said DHs, which is completely understandable, we do tend to incite near violent tendencies at times, I don't claim that men aren't stupid, we are especially when it comes to our wives, even the best can miss the mark when it comes to that.

NoWireCoatHangarsEVER's picture

Big giant hugs to you across the internet. How do you prevent the gskids from turning into the same creatures as SD20 and Sd26? Well, you know how and that's the crux of why you are upset. Accountability, dependability,  responsibility and not being so dang selfish. When your wife doesn't have strong boundaries and expectations for her adult daughters and there aren't consequences, you fear your gskid will model those same horrible behaviors. It's a valid fear. It's too late for SD20 and SD26 but it isn't for the little ones. They still have a chance to grow into productive members of society who aren't selfish.  If you lived in Florida I would babysit for you . You are deserving of some fun with your wife. I hope you can get her to grow away from this codependency thing she has going on. 

Major Blunder's picture

Thanks Nowire (always loved your avatar, great movie!) DW is not enabling the gskids I will say that, I bring the hammer down quite a bit on the 8y/o and so does she, we do have to tread lightly at times with her due to the trauma her mother has put her through, one of these days I'll write about that, talk about a resilient kid, the fact that she isn't screwed up more is actually amazing.  If I lived in Florida I would take you up on it, actually a few hours drive so maybe I'll just drop them off Friday night. lol

Rags's picture

I hurt for you.  I couldn't do what you do.  While I understand your reasoning for not going full vent here or even IRL with your bride and her toxic spawn I do not understand how you do not call your bride to task for not learning from the repeated lessons regarding her toxic spawn.  

If she is  doing nothing different with the younger one than she did with the elder sh can’t possibly think they the outcome will be optimal.  The same applies for the outcome of the gskids.

As the adage says.... insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.  As my grandmother used to say.... if you can’t listen and learn them you will have to feel.  So far the only one feeling in your blended situation is you.  Feeling sad, depressed and forlorn.

Try something different,  Hold the mirror of repeated parental failure firmly in your brides face and point out the repeated insanity and guide her..... firmly in a different direction.

Take care of you.

Major Blunder's picture

Hey Rags, with the gskids she is going a different direction and allows me to take the wheel alot more often.  Everyone is correct that the skids are done, they are and will be the same toxic little diamond encrusted snowflakes till they choose to be otherwise bu the gskids I have swore I will not allow to grow into the same, right now the 8yo is getting the brunt of it but she's 8 exactly the age where this stuff starts to get rough but she is getting there and will succeed I have no doubt, how she feels about me later down the road is yet to be seen.

Thank you always my friend for advice and two cents, I sought you out on advice of others when I first joined the site and have never been disappointed I did so, you are a model of success and a force to be reckonded with, much respect sir!

StepUltimate's picture

It's good you wrote - I agree with others that your feelings are valid (not petty or unimportant), and can build up until the pressure explodes. Very heathy to write it out like you did here. It can help you, especially because you & DW have gskids when you thought it would be Empty Nest time, and ESPECIALLY since here you have a support group where a LOT of people understand &  want to encourage you. 

Sometimes when I want to get all my thoughts and feelings out, I just save'em in a google doc, sometimes I post here, and other times I call a great friend and leave them a loooong voicemail. Any of those are better than me being stuck in a mental spin cycle trying to think up solutions to uncomfortable situations. 

With respect,

 

Major Blunder's picture

StepUltimate , you have been on my mind alot lately with your situation so thanks for lifting me up. You're an awesome lady and I'm glad we are becoming online friends !!!!!

Major Blunder's picture

So I believe that I have answered all the individual comments to the best of my abilities and I am grateful for each and everyone.

Thank you all for lifting me, letting me know I'm not alone, making suggestions and just for being the awesome people that you are, I have communicating with some of you on this site since almost the beginning and I truly appreciate your friendship, I feel much better today ( not that it won't come undone at some point  lol ) but that is in part thanks to all of you !