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I want my life back!

cpreston's picture

OK, here goes… I’m new here, just looking for support, maybe to commiserate or find a way to get through to my husband… and to vent!

My SS is 26, and has never really left home. He went to college but after less than a semester he had a ‘breakdown’ of sorts and we had to go get him and bring him home.

I also have a SD who is 32, she’s been living on her own since she graduated from high school, went off to college, got an off campus apartment, jobs in her field, has managed to do very well for herself. She now has her masters and is the director of a hospital.

My SD and I used to butt heads up until a few years ago, but things have been fantastic between the two of us (she’s since met someone who is divorced with a daughter from previous relationship, so she’s now in my shoes, ten years ago)

My SS is and really has been my biggest relationship problem. he’s never grown up and my DH has never forced him into growing up.
Prior to my meeting my DH, he lost a son to suicide. I believe that has affected the way he treats SS. He coddles him, whenever he has tried to get SS to grow up and take responsibility, he has threatened to kill himself. He’s a horrible manipulator and my DH either won’t or just can’t see it.

When SS was insistant on having his g/f sneak in and out of the house at all hours of the night and early morning, I put my foot down and said absolutely not!~ he ignored this rule over and over again and my DH looked the other way.

I have two daughters from previous relationships… my younger daughter is 13 and lives with us. This is not how I raise my children, this is not how my SD was raised, yet it’s permitted for SS… why? Because when pushed on issues…he says “if I can’t have ***stay with me, then I might as well kill myself!”

Well, the g/f got pregnant and her mother basically dumped her on our doorstep. December of last year she sold her house and moved in w/ a boyfriend and told the girl there’s no room for you…

These two and now the baby all live in our home. I had drawn up a contract, including some basic chores for them to do, to help out. That lasted about a month… they don’t do ANYTHING to help out anymore.
I never know when either of them are going to be home for meals, yet when there’s not enough for EVERYONE, my husband makes me feel guilty for not planning on including the two of them for dinner. My SS helps himself to whatever is in the refrigerator, regardless of notes saying “for Dad’s Lunch” or “for tomorrow night’s dinner”
When I threw a snap about it, he started buying his own food and yelled at my DD for drinking HIS orange juice… like she knew? How about the umpteen million gallons of o.j. you polished off before your step sister took one glass of “yours” ?

Much like the chores, their buying their own food has gone by the wayside and they’re back to eating meals at home, from food that I buy.

They pay $500/month in rent, which we’re putting aside for them to move out… they don’t’ know that we’re holding money for them.

They’re late on the rent to the point that they’re actually behind a month and my DH says that proves that they’re not able to actually move out yet, so we can’t force the issue.

I want my life back!
My DD who is 13 does more chores in a week that they’ve done in the last five months! I am tired of having to clean up the house after EVERYONE
I am tired of having these two people come and go as they please, use the house like a hotel complete with meals and maid service. DD and I aren’t the only ones using the bathroom! We’re not the only ones using the kitchen! We’re not the only ones sitting in the living room! why should they not have to help clean up these areas which they use too??

There is no upside to having the grandson living at home either, because we rarely see him anyway. The g/f takes him out of the house whenever she wakes, dresses and leaves and doesn’t come home till minutes before SS gets home from work (he works in the restaurant business, so that’s pretty late) and she stands there, with the baby asleep in his car seat, like she’s putting him on display for us to ‘view’ for a brief moment before she takes him upstairs and that’s it until the next night or if she decides to grace us with her presence at the dinner table!

To add to all of this, I’ve noticed a change in my DD’s attitude… she even went so far as to say to my DH and I at the dinner table the other night something to the effect about not ever having to move out of the house, because her step-brother is still there! She’s been defiant, and argumentative, reflection of the piss poor attitude she sees all the time from her step-brother I’m sure! She knows and can see the toll that this situation is taking on me and she’s mad at my DH for allowing it to continue (she’s said so much, “why doesn’t he make them move out?!?!?)

I want my life back! I want them out of the house so that I can go back to normal. I want to go back to knowing how many people to cook for, I want to know that if there’s a dish in the sink, that I can just say to my DD, Hey, we don’t do that! and she’ll clean it up

I want the bills to go back down, the electric bill, the gas bill, the water bill, the sewer bill are higher in the hundreds (total) since she moved in!

If they’re not going to pitch in, then I want them OUT and I don’t want them to come back! (am I a horrible person for saying all this?)

Jsmom's picture

HEll no. Kick them to the curb. I would be gone...I actually have it in the pre-nup, that DH or I will not be responsible for any grandchildren....This is the drama that I see in my future with my SD15. BM lets her do whatever she wants and when she is out of control, she will probably send her back to us. I am out of here if that happens...

stepmasochist's picture

"I actually have it in the pre-nup, that DH or I will not be responsible for any grandchildren"

That's pretty smart. I wonder if we could get that in a custody order for the skids?

cpreston's picture

The girlfriend “works” 8 hours a week… she has a job at a childrens’ clothing outlet and works two days a week, for four hours each day.

I worked part time after having my first DD… and we had a place of our own… at her age, I was married, had a kid and a job and an apartment and a vehicle, all of which we paid for on our own… this one’s got her mom duped into paying her car payment and car insurance… she lives with us ‘for free’ because none of the rent money comes out of her pocket, and she does nothing to contribute in the home.

I have thought long and hard about leaving, believe me. My mother has actually begged me to leave because she sees what this situation has done to me. (imagine that I’d be a 40-something adult child “living at home” if she had it her way … ha ha ha!)

I love my husband and although she’s acting out now, I don’t think that the disruption of a separation would be good for my daughter… her father just divorced her step-mom and she was devastated… and she didn’t even really like the step-mom all that much… just he upheaval in her life was a lot to bear.

I wonder what would happen if I just went on strike? I’ve fantasized about that…. just stop cooking, stop cleaning, only do my own laundry.. at the Laundromat, reading a magazine once a week where nobody can bother me…. Ok, so I’d do my DD’s laundry too, because our washer and dryer seem to be running ALL the time, so she’d need to get her clothes clean…

Has anyone here ever done that? Just STOPPED cleaning up after everyone? STOPPED taking care of all the other supposed “adults” in the house?

cpreston's picture

screw that I'm already the bad guy because I want them out and they know it, oh and because I tell them not to leave baby bottles in the sink and recyclables on the kitchen counter and I give them hell when they eat stuff that I have labeled for meals... how much more of 'the bad guy' could I be?

(I just have to remember to not have any visitors over while the house is a shambles and tell my DD that she's got a reprieve from her regular chores for a short while)

hismineandours's picture

I would stop immediately doing anything for them. I would definitely only cook enough for my dd and me. If your dh wants his son and his family there-then he can cook for them, he can do laundry for them. I would go so far as to hide the toilet paper so that only my dd and I could use it. I am just an immature biatch like that though. It sounds as if you've given your best effort to talking about things, setting boundaries, and you've been ignored and walked over. So now is the time to take action-if they have anything of use in their room I would also go and use how ever much of it I like. I wouldnt do the dishes-perhaps I'd take all my meals out and buy some snacks and put them in a lockbox at home. Maybe get a small fridge for my bedroom and put a padlock on it. And then I'd just be a big bitch to everyone buy my dd.

sixteensmom's picture

Disengaging was the best thing I ever did for my marriage.
We had sd and her husband live with us for six months. No baby but they each had full time $40k ish per year jobs. They didn't do Jack around the house. Used our laundry detergent, food, tp, you name it. Tok over the tv remote, never washed their own towels or cooked a single meal for us. They Never paid rent and then they tattled every chance they got on my dd19 who lived on her own paying her own way working two jobs and going to school. (saw her out with friends at a bar etc)

As long as daddy sees you taking care of everything life is good for him. As long as you keep trying, any issues will be your fault because you're the only one complAining.

I decided I was done.
If they're not at dinner when its on the table, they don't eat.
If they don't eat wih the family there's no food in the refrigerator for them to eat. Keep it frozen or locked up in your room of u have to.lol.
If they don't do laundry they wear dirty clothes. If they don't speak you don't speak.
Take your dd and dh out for picnics and outings, don't include skid
Projects around the house for dd and dh to do, not them.
Stop caring, eliminate any expectations. Be happy with your family and eff these little idiots.

If all that doesn't help, have a couple extra margaritas one night, and come home with no holds barred. Yell scream cuss out your dh for the pieces of shit he raised with the bitch ex. And let him know everything loud enough that anyone in their right mind would pack up and move out before facing that wrath in the morning.

It can work.

Shannon61's picture

It's time to bring the gravy train into the station. You and DH need to set a timeframe for them to get out and tell them the date, if not they'll be there the next 5 years because they have no real incentive to leave. Have a family meeting to let them know what your plans are. Stop cooking meals for them or doing laundry for anyone other than DH and BD. DH's statement about "not being able to force the issue" regarding the rent is ridiculous. The bigger issue is SS needs to learn to live below his means so he CAN afford the rent. But he doesn't really have to because he lives w/daddy. What's going to happen in the real world?

DH has enabled his son and he's not doing him any favors. Nothing is going to change unless DH steps up and holds his son accountable. He should be learning self-reliance, but instead he and his gf are learning how to take advantage of others.

Tell DH you're at the end of your rope and if things don't change soon, you and BD are moving out. Put your foot down to this nonsense. SS created a baby now he needs to man up and get out and support himself and his family and stop depending on and mooching off you and DH. If things don't change, you're only going to get more miserable. You have to get DH on your side and make him see what that this is destroying his marriage.

Stay encouraged, and good luck.

Sterling's picture

Ha! I stopped cleaning the house for a whole week. My DH works overnights and his kids sit around all day and don't do anything. Well when he came home, it didn't really bother him at first but then by the third day, our house was a DISASTER. Ha! I loved it. I felt so free not cleaning up after everyone. It was bliss. Later that week his SD was made to clean more. However, they have gone back to not helping but that week was well worth it!

cpreston's picture

… as if I weren’t already ready to throw a total snap…

He left his bank statement out on the dining room table, ok, so I shouldn’t have looked at it (well, if he didn’t want anyone looking at it he shouldn’t have left it out, right?)

He’s been going to this brew-pub after work at least twice a week, and spending upwards of $40-$60 each time he goes…

I’m sorry, but my husband and I have good jobs and we don’t have that kind of money to spend on entertaining ourselves. I supply a house full of food and he’s eating out twice a week and buying craft brews and expensive beer!?!?!?!?

We’re going on vacation as a whole family this week. My SD every year puts up some money for either the house or buys the groceries and pays for a night out to dinner when we get there, my SS of course offers nothing but drama once we’re there…

This year, I am going to make a grand statement that my SD and her fiancé are not to buy groceries, or pay for dinner and we’re not accepting any money from them for anything this year. SS and his g/f are coming to the beach house for the week too, and they’re getting the downstairs master bedroom (DH decreed this, so that they can have quiet for the baby) I think its’ wrong that my SD and her fiancé aren’t getting the other master bedroom, since they’re the ones that have been contributing to the vacation year after year, but that’s fine…since my SD and her fiancé are being inconvenienced with a shared bathroom and a smaller bedroom, they shouldn’t have to cough up any dough to be on vacation with us, I mean after all, SS hasn’t had to all these years, right?

I am going to wait till vacation is over and then I am going to call a family meeting and I am going to demand to know how much that he has saved (NOTHING) and when he admits he has nothing, I will mention to him how often I’ve noticed he goes out after work and how his g/f has a pedicure and manicure EVERY WEEK and I’m going to demand that they give us a real date that they plan on moving out.

I am DONE! This is OVER, I will no longer accept this kind f abuse… it is ABUSE! It’s one thing to be breaking my back keeping up a home and chores and cooking, but they’re living high on the hog with apparently ZERO intention of the “gravy train” to ever stop, they have NO intention of moving out! If they did, he’d have money in the bank (his ending total of his account was less than $100!)

Shannon61's picture

I'm glad you're putting your foot down. Good for you. Once they know you mean business, they'll have to get their stuff together. Moving isn't optional, it's mandatory. Since DH won't stand up you'll have to. Take your house and your life back. It's time to grow up.

My SD (27) was also enabled and accomodated by my DH. She once told him "our washer" no longer got her clothes clean. A few days later DH told me "he went to look at new washers." I told him under no circumstances were we buying a new one until the old one stopped working. On another incident, someone hit SD's car and she had to pay a large deductible. DH wanted to give her back her rent money. I told him over my dead body. She's getting married next year. If she weren't only God knows how long she'd plan on staying here with us.

Enabling cripples adult children. My DH is finally starting to see the error of his ways and is now embarrased because SD doesn't can't do the simplest things at almost 30 years old . . not to mention she still lives with us. But DH does accept the blame and wishes he'd been firmer. I keep reminding him that the world isn't going to accommodate her or kiss her behind. It's truly pathetic.

cpreston's picture

I just figured that if he tries to lie about having any money saved, that I'll proably have to admit that I looked at his bank statement. Whatever, it's my house and my husbands house. If my DD left her paperwork hanging around, I know that my DH wouldn't think twice about looking at it, so if the *hit-bird is going to leave his bank papers out in the open, I'm looking at them!

these things just keep building up... this morning, I went to move a load that I had done last night from the washer to the dryer, and the dryer was full, only the clothes werent' dry, and they'd been there for so long, they smelled sour and musty... stinking up my dryer! I was getting ready to put the clothes in a basket to put on the landing by the door to the 3rd floor and my husband intervenes and he washes the clothes again! Hello, of course they don't care! They don't pay the bills for the water and electricity! Talk about enabling!
>:-(

Shannon61's picture

This is exactly the kind of foolishness I'm taking about. They were too lazy to put their own clothes in the dryer. Or perhaps they forgot. Oh well. Under no circumstance should DH have washed them again. He should have left them to teach them the lesson. And gf only works a few hours a week. How difficult is it to FINISH your laundry?

When you're not paying for utilities, you simply don't care. I too would let SS know I saw the bank statement if necessary. Do whatever you have to do to show them you mean business. Once you get execute your strategy, you'll feel much better.

hippiegirl's picture

OMG! This could have been me last year. SS24 asked dh & I if his preggo gf could move in with us (we were cramped and strapped for cash already). Before DH could answer, I piped up and said hell to the no. I do not want another woman in my house, messing around in my kitchen, touching my shit. I also told him that I do not want a newborn in my house (dh & I have paid our dues on the baby raising). SS24 then said something like, well women love babies. I said no, women love THEIR babies. End of conversation. I think I kinda pissed dh off, but I do not care. If I had left the decision up to him, we'd be supporting 3 extra people right now. Fark that!!! SS is 24 freaking years old...he can figure it out.

If I was you, I'd start looking for an apartment...asap. You're too good for that life.

cpreston's picture

To add insult to injury on this whole story is... they paid us rent a grand total of three times... we've had to use some of that money that we were going to give backto them to move out for house repairs

and we havent' seen a dime in rent since and they STILL do nothing to help out around the house

Husband will occasionally say something that he things is placating me like "I have to have a serious talk with them about chipping in around here" but then nothing happens

I finally put my foot down and said
Either they start paying rent, or I leave
Either they're out when the G/F gets her degree, or I'm out

I don't know if he really believes me, but I certainly don't want him to put it to the test!

MissTexas's picture

This sounds hauntingly familiar.

DH has kids in their upper 40's and both act is if they are only children. DH strips the sheets, washes, dries and makes up their beds. Why can't THEY DO IT? It's not that hard. Put a load in the washer, go entertain yourself, put it in the dryer. I thought I would make things easier by purchasing new sheets, washing, drying folding and placing them in Rubbermaid containers beneath the beds. That way if they "didn't have time to wait for the load to cycle" then they could AT LEAST put the fresh sheets on the bed and leave, which would mean we would only have to do the laundry, not make the bed. I told DH at this point if they still refuse to make the beds, then it's a total "in your face, I don't care" ordeal. Nothing has changed.