You are here

Ugh! Never again!

ncgal1980's picture

I just had the worst Mother's Day EVER. DH said he had no idea I'd react this way, but I'm just sick and tired of this one issue coming up over and over again.

For Mother's Day, he took me to a nice place at the beach that we'd never been to before. We don't get to go anywhere alone much, so I was looking forward to it. All five of the boys (his three and my two) were going to be elsewhere for the weekend, so it was just the two of us.

Saturday night, we were relaxing by the pool with a couple drinks, and he sighs and says "I remember the first time we ever came here."

Me: "Huh?"

DH: "Oh, BM and the boys and me. SS9 was just a baby then. It doesn't seem that long ago, but - "

Me: "Oh wow, really? I had no idea you'd brought BM here. That's just...wow."

DH: "We used to come here for a week every summer."

Me: *Chugs drink* "I think I'll head back up to the room now."

DH: "What's wrong?"

Me: *Fuming*

****

It RUINED the weekend. I swear, this man can't take me ANYWHERE that he didn't take BM and the skids to first. There HAS to be somewhere on the Easter seaboard that that damn group of people didn't go to, but I'll be damned if we can ever go there.

I've told DH before that I just feel like a stand-in, a substitute for BM. I don't feel like I belong anywhere anymore. I'm just filler since BM isn't there anymore, so he can still go to the same places and have somebody with him.

At the very least, I wish he'd kept it to himself that that was a place that he, BM and the skids used to go to every year!

DH doesn't see what my problem is. He said he didn't think it'd bother me. I've TOLD HIM BEFORE that stuff like that bothers me. I feel like all I get is leftovers, and he got to experience everything the first time with BM.

Next year I think I'll just send HIM off to that lovely place for the weekend and make arrangements to just have the whole damn house to myself for two days! UGH!

ncgal1980's picture

I hear that a lot. "WE used to do this, and WE used to do that." I know when he says "we," he's reminiscing about BM and their days together with the skids. Don't get me wrong - I don't expect him to just forget all the good memories and whatnot, but I'll be damned if I want to relive them as her understudy!

We've been to one place - ONE - since we met that wasn't a place he'd taken BM previously. Usually I find out after we get there that it's a place he took BM before me.

Maybe I'll just give him a challenge. Find some NEW DAMN PLACES and try THOSE out. Maybe take me along, or not, I don't care anymore.

frustratedstepdad's picture

Wow, your DH is an idiot. He should've just kept his mouth shut.

I'll one up you though. My DW and I were out with another couple once. The other couple was talking about how they once had sex in their car in a parking lot. So my DW brought up how we had sex on this beach one time. I just gave her a deadpan stare and said it wasn't me, because we've never had sex on a beach.

Awkward silence for the rest of the night.

goincrazy.com's picture

LMAO!!!! Omg, how embarrassing! Ugh..........

ncgal1980's picture

There's just NO way to recover from a moment like that. About all you can do is walk off into the ocean without saying a word and never come back. :O

frustratedstepdad's picture

LOL. Yes it was a big oops. We were all swingers back then, so it wasn't THAT big of a deal but still. Trust me I got her back though, and it's never happened since.

ncgal1980's picture

If DH had just kept that to himself, we'd have had a really good time. Later on that evening, still completely oblivious, he went on to tell me about how BM really liked the room they were in because it had such a big tub, and the boys got to stay in a separate suite. Apparently the room he rented on the weeks he went with her was a LOT nicer than the one we stayed in, because ours didn't have a separate suite or a big tub. Not that I needed one, but still, having to hear about their times staying at that same place just left a knot in my stomach that's still there today. We drove back home yesterday without saying much of anything to each other.

It totally changed the whole way I perceived that place, and our weekend. It's so hard for us to have time alone to ourselves - and it's REALLY hard to schedule a whole weekend like that - so to have DH share his little tidbits of information really broke my heart. God knows how long it'll be before we get another chance like that, and if/when we do, there's always a chance he'll again plan a trip to yet another place they've been to together. Apparently I won't know until we freaking GET THERE!

Yikes, frustratedstepdad! I bet that was a really fun moment during the conversation!

Some people don't seem to have a "filter" when it comes to conversations with other people. If I'd ever done anything like that, I think I'd have kept it to myself, whether it was with my spouse or not! I'd love to have seen the look on her face when she realized it wasn't you! Yikes!

frustratedstepdad's picture

Like you said, I'm sure he's not doing it on purpose. Some people just don't think before they speak. Why even mention the ex at all when the trip is supposed to be about the two of you?

ncgal1980's picture

As I've told him on trips before - when I found out he, BM and the skids had been there previously - that it just spoils the entire experience for me. It's like their ghosts are now hanging over my head every second, in everything we do while we're there.

Everything becomes a "been there, done that" sort of thing, and I just can't enjoy it. I feel like all I get are sloppy seconds. All I can do after that is wait for DH to mention yet another thing about the trip that he just remembered. "Oh! SS7 LOVED the little ice cream place up the street! We should stop in there before we leave! SS7 would always get blah blah blah and say blah blah blah about it." God, SHUT UP ALREADY!

Maybe I'm too self-centered. I probably am. But damn it, I want us to go somewhere that's new for BOTH of us, not just a place where he can sit and reflect on all the fun times he and BM had there with their kids. It just makes me feel like a damn third wheel, or as I've said, just a stand-in for BM, nothing more.

unwillingparticipant's picture

Start talking about all the great memories you had with your ex and see what he does

ncgal1980's picture

Maybe I should take him on a day trip and show him all the exciting and wacky places my ex and I enjoyed "private time" together. I bet THAT would be a fun, fun day for him! About as fun as last weekend was for me!

Willow2010's picture

Wow. What a bonehead move. He should have never taken you there. And he never should have brought up his fond memories of BM while there with you. YUK!

So he knows you hate things like that. So do you really think he is that stupid or is he just trying to make you mad?

ncgal1980's picture

Honestly, I don't think he's doing it to try to make me mad. He really seems to just be doing it without thinking.

Maybe I will start doing the same thing to him. I'll plan our next trip, and see how he likes going somewhere my ex and I went at some point in the past, preferably with our kids. (Of course, DH won't know that before we actually get there.) Then I can go on and on with a wistful smile on my face about how niiiiice that trip was and how much fuuuunnnn we had..."Oh, what wonderful memories!"

See if HE feels like puking...I bet he will! He'd probably chug his drink and stomp off, too!

frustratedstepdad's picture

I've noticed that sometimes it's the only way to get my DW to realize how I'm feeling. Sometimes she just doesn't get it until I do the same thing to her. My DW mentioning her sexual tryst on the beach was not the first time it happened either.

So one time I go "Baby, remember that time we stayed at that hotel and we had sex all night long? Remember how the sheets were soaked and we had to ask housekeeping for new sheets?" Of course it wasn't her, but since I gave her a dose of her own medicine it has NEVER happened again.

Smile

ncgal1980's picture

I should try that some time. Just give him every raunchy detail of some wild night I had with the ex or some other former fling and see how he enjoys sitting there listening to it.

"Oh, what? That wasn't you? I could've sworn it was! Don't you remember breaking that swing and throwing your back out? You had a hell of a time explaining your injuries to that ER doctor! Are you sure it wasn't you? Oh, sorry then!" Wink

frustratedstepdad's picture

Yes you really should try it. Then let him know that's how you feel whenever he mentions his stupid ex. He will get the hint loud and clear.

Fullofresentment's picture

This is awful ncgal. Your hubby should be bending over backwards to make this up to you not be ignoring you. My dh hates both of him
BMs so I am lucky that way. He did use the petname "wife" for me before we even got married or engaged. I used to think it was so cute until I scrolled down his FB and saw a post related to a previous gf with the same nickname. I went ballistic it he couldn't understand for the life of him why I was so upset about if. Men really are clueless but the very least he should be sensitive to your feelings.

hereiam's picture

Reminiscing about the the ex on a romantic weekend with the current spouse.

Yes, that will get the love juices flowing.

ncgal1980's picture

Mmmm hmmm! Boy I sure was feeling lovey-dovey after THAT little moment down by the pool!

Unfreakingreal's picture

I would probably pack my things and leave my DH if he ever reminisced about ANYTHING with BM. Seriously, I would be out the door so fast his head would spin.

Jsmom's picture

You need a rule in your marriage. We have one, we never go any place we have been to with the other spouse. We had this problem with Countries since we both traveled a lot, so a lot of the Caribbean was out and several states, but we have made it work.

Now restaurants are a problem once in awhile, but we are foodies, so that is to be expected. But, we make a real point of new resorts, new cities and entirely new experiences with the kids and with each other. It really helps stop that feeling. Since we have not done a lot of European countries, that is our next vacation. We have to do things that are new for the kids as well, to make it fun for them. I can not go anywhere in the Pan Handle or the SE coast due to BM taking the kids there all the time for triathalons. I resent the hell out of the fact that entire state of FL is out.

But, with the rule, there are less problems and this has forced our vacations to be a lot more fun and an added bonus is BM can not compete. Not that that is the goal, just a side benefit. Negative is that it does make the disenfranchised child want to come.

ncgal1980's picture

It's harder for us because we don't have the time or money to travel very far from home, so we're pretty limited as to where we can go. But still, there are a lot of neat places in NC. I'm having a hard time finding anything that he wants to do, and then when I do mention a place, I often hear, "Oh YES! BM and I took the boys there one time. It's awesome!"

Uh, yeah. Check that one off the list, then. Sad

Rags's picture

Order the NC state travel guide from the appropriate government agency. The Tx travel guide is excellent and the state publishes a new one each year free of charge to anyone who asks. It lists the towns and events by region/county including festivals, parks, scenic drives, etc....

NC may have something similar. You can plan day trips on teh weekend and the occassional just the two of you weekend trip. Find stuff you like and think that he might like and ask him if he has been with his XW. If he has, black it out. If not, give it a try.

Try these websites.One may have the link where you can put your name and address in to have the free state travel guide mailed to you. I think the third link may be the one you want in order to have the guide mailed to you.

Good luck, have fun and take care of yourself.

http://www.visitnc.com/
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/journalpubs/northcarolina_2014travelguide/
http://www.nccommerce.com/tourism/visitnccom/travel-guide

Merry's picture

We have a slightly different twist on that. Sometimes we PURPOSELY go somewhere that we've been with our exes. DH's ex in particular was a psycho, so not that many fond memories. Usually a meltdown over the room's paint color or some such. DH likes erasing those ghosts with good times with me. My ex has a temper, so we usually fought over something at some point in every trip, so I am glad to be places that I can actually enjoy instead of trying to control whatever it is that might set him off. (My ex and DH's ex would be SO good for each other....)

But we know it going in to the trip, and we rarely talk about our exes during the trip. Only to say something like, "ugly ghost eradicated" maybe.

frustratedstepdad's picture

Honestly I don't think the rule would help in her situation. Just seems like her DH is completely clueless.

ncgal1980's picture

I have a similar problem. I grew up in a small town, and my most significant ex (not my ex-husband) grew up there, too, and still lives there. I have a LOT of memories with that ex associated with my hometown, and I make it a point NOT to talk about them or take DH to any of the places that bring back memories of the times I spent there with my ex. I had much stronger feelings for that ex than I do about my ex-husband, and I know first-hand that DH wouldn't want to hear me sit around reminiscing about all the good times he and I had together where I grew up.

To me, it's just a no-brainer that you don't take your current spouse to places that hold all those memories. Yeah, it might be fun for you in a way (helps you remember fun times you had in the past), but it's awkward as hell for your current squeeze. I'd never do that.

Why he insists on constantly taking me to places that he and his ex went to, I don't know. I thought I'd made it pretty clear in the past that I have NO desire to relive his memories with him, and I have NO desire to go to any places where he and BM went in the past. And yet - AND YET! - he did it again this past weekend!

I'd have enjoyed my Mother's Day weekend so much more if he'd just gone by himself and left me at home alone. It's bad when you spend a very rare child-free weekend thinking over and over to yourself, "Just a few more hours. You can do this. You can survive it. Don't worry, you'll get to go back to work Monday morning and all this will be behind you."

Wow. What a vacation, huh? :sick:

kontan's picture

I have come to the conclusion that men are stupid. OK, maybe just daft. I don't know why they don't "get" that we want to have some firsts with them. I never realized how difficult this would be. The man I have chosen to marry is spectacular and I can't imagine life without him. I have also NEVER been the jealous type, but OMG I can't handle any story or place that involved her. She is the only person on the planet that can make me crazy. Why do men not understand this concept? Fortunately for me she didn't like hiking, camping, or anything involving activity. We have a lot of our experiences, but there are some I would like to share with him...but because they have shared them I find it difficult. So sorry, it has to be maddening.

ncgal1980's picture

I truly don't think he did it to be mean or anything. He just didn't think it through. He never does. This has happened repeatedly, and every time he looks at me all baffled and upset, like "Why are you so mad at me?"

He even texted me a little while ago to ask me if I'm still mad at him. Well, yeah! You ruined my weekend with your little waltz down memory lane with me as your uninvited and unwilling guest, so yes I AM still upset!

It would be so nice to experience something new with him. Once, he took me to a bed & breakfast that they'd never been to before, but other than that, everywhere he's ever taken me was somewhere where he had lots of memories with BM. He mainly goes on about his memories there with his kids, and some of the things they did and said there, which in a way is just as bad. It makes me feel even more like just a substitute, a stand-in since the kids' real mom isn't available to go on these trips anymore.

His parents and extended family go off on a trip to the mountains to a big cabin every year on Labor Day weekend. I HATE that weekend now because I know I'll have to hear some random story on the way up there about something that happened with BM on one of the weekends she went up there with him, and how much she just loooooved going up there. GOD that makes my blood boil. Again, I'm just a stand-in for that bitch. Thanks a lot, DH.

It's just disgusting that I'm thrilled to be back at work and away from that place at the beach now. I will NEVER go back there. EVER. No matter how nice it is or how much he enjoys going there. Sorry, it's just too much.

kontan's picture

No apologies about that! Makes perfect sense. And you are probably right, it isn't to be mean. That's why I retracted stupid and went with daft. It is just not thinking about the emotional toll it takes on you. It can be so difficult to make new memories. I agree on a previous comment. I love NC (it is not my home state) but there are limited areas for vacation. Maybe I need to do better research, but we have really struggled to make our own memories with regard to places to visit. Fortunately, I am VERY different than BM. (New here, is it wrong that I like referring to her as BM? SMH, it has been a rough week.)

ncgal1980's picture

Most people seem to refer to the bio mom/ex-wife as BM. We all know what you mean!

BM in my case is also fairly different from me in a lot of ways, but apparently she was game for just about any trip DH wanted to take, and she went along. I think he wears rose-colored glasses when it comes to his trips with her. Sometimes I just want to shout, "Well damn! If y'all had such AWESOME times all the time, why the hell did you get a divorce! Sounds to me like y'all need to get back together already! Dang!" (The Southern accent really comes out in full force when I'm mad!)

I'm finding out that those two went just about everywhere there is to go together. I could probably plan a trip to Timbuktu, then have to listen to him drone on and on about "BM and I went here about five years ago! It was AWESOME!"

Shit. Just shoot me already. I think I'll just stay home from here on out.

clydella's picture

Ooh, that's bad, very bad of your DH. I & DH have run into this problem as well, we both have experienced lots of travels here & there so it's hard to come up with places that we can afford to travel without it being somewhere we have been with our ex. We came up with the rule, that no one speaks of the time spent there before and we focus on us & the new memories we are making together. I have exposed him to new memories for an old place and the same for me as well. I don't want or need to hear about his time there before and he doesn't want to hear of my time. We both accept that we had a life before each other, we just don't need to relive it, we face forward and enjoy our lives together now. You need to have a talk with him, lay down your rules and face forward.

And never fill like a stand-in for BM your ncgal1980, you stand out!! Hope you have a better day Smile

AllySkoo's picture

I'm not sure it's even so much "clueless" as it is "self centered". Clueless would be doing it once - but repeatedly? When you've TOLD him not to do that?? Sounds like he's just so wrapped up in what HE thinks and feels that there's no room to consider YOU. Sorry, ncgal - you deserve better than that. I must say I do like the idea of, the next time he goes on one of these trips down memory lane, you reply, 'That reminds me of the time when my significant ex, you know, the one from my hometown, did something like that! Oh it was so much fun, and he was so romantic!" Wink (Note, it doesn't even have to be TRUE. Make it up if you have to, and make it good.)

moeilijk's picture

I can't imagine being in this situation, it sucks so bad!

I'd hope I had the guts to turn on my heel and just go home. My fun time away with my darling is ruined because my darling is all doe-eyed over someone else? Eff that noise. Rather be home on my own, thank you very much. I think he'd learn after walking home a few times. And I'd have had a nice time in the meantime.

But I don't know what I'd really do... probably cry and be angry.

hereiam's picture

The next time you have sex with your DH (if there is a next time), you could blurt out,

"Oh, oh, oh! I remember the very first time it felt this good. It was with my ex and it seems like yesterday."

sarebear's picture

I hate the whole reminiscing thing too! From the tiny to the big, even the bad. I barely ever do it. We just recently sold his beach house that's been on the market for a couple of years. He lived there alone, then for a couple of the 10 years he was with his ex and then a couple of years with me. We conceived our twins there and had to move to a bigger place which I was pretty happy about getting a place new to both of us. When we sold it and officially ALL our stuff out he said he was relieved because he had such bad memories of the place. I'm like, uh, hello - we started our whole relationship there, honeymooned there, conceived children there, remember? I would hope it would have trumped all the bad but whatever....

ncgal1980's picture

"He'd tell a story about how "WE" did this, WE went there, WE traveled to x."

Oh, that drives me CRAZY! My DH does that a lot. Not as much as he used to because I told him it really bugged me, but he still does it more than I'd like.

He does it without thinking, and I really don't think he means anything by it. He often just starts talking without realizing how it sounds when he says it. "WE used to go there every summer. WE loved that place." Well, good for YOU BOTH. I know you're not talking about me, but thank you so much for letting me sit here and listen to your story about how WE (not YOU and ME but YOU and BM) looooved this place so much that you went there every year. Shut up already!

DH used to make a lot more money than he does now and could afford some crazy expensive vacations for himself, BM, and the skids. I've struggled all my life - paying my own way through college, then being a single mom (not really by choice, either) - and I've never been in a position financially to take expensive vacations anywhere. I guess I could have if I wanted to rack up a bunch of credit card debt, but I'm too responsible to do anything like that, so I just did without. I kept all my bills paid and took care of myself and my kids, but there never was much left over. A trip to the beach with my kids and my mom was about all I could afford, and a lot of years I couldn't even afford that.

So yeah, it's nice to hear yet again, DH, about the cruises WE went on. Oops! Not me! You're talking about you and BM again! YAY! I've always wanted to go on a cruise, but hey! Hearing about how much fun you and BM had on your multiple cruises all over the globe is just as good! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!

It's disgusting.

Finally I just started commenting on his stories with something along the lines of "WOW that must be REALLY AWESOME but I wouldn't know, so thanks for letting me hear in detail how much freaking FUN it was to blow thousands of dollars on yourself and the skank you married the first time around. SWEET!" :sick:

I feel like the clean-up crew...I came along after all the fun, and now I get to be thrifty and clip coupons and pinch pennies with a man who had tons of cash to blow on his ex but not me. I try not to bitch about it too much, but when he starts trotting down memory lane about some cruise or some other fancy trip, I do get a bit snippy about it.

wth was I thinking's picture

Hearing about the money they used to spend on vacations pisses me off, because DH got left with a fairly sizeable chuck of debt from that marriage that I am helping him with. Money that could/should have gone toward paying that down instead went to their vacations. Now it feels like not only do I have to hear about their damn vacations, I am actually paying for them too. :sick:

Frustr8d1's picture

Men are clueless? I don't think so. In cases like this, they are plain stupid. With my DH, I think he just doesn't care--I mean, he can't possibly be THAT clueless or stupid! There's a certain place in the world I always dreamed of going and I have been saving that trip my whole life. It's the most important place on my bucket list. So what does DH do (when we were still newlyweds and struggling with the steplife) He selfies saved on our computer of DH & BM at my dream place.

He also kept taking me to places he had already taken BM. Finally I told him I'm not going to any of those places. I'm tired of being second and having leftovers from his and BM's life. DH wants to take me to my dream location but we have SD full time and BM is completely disconnected from her life. DH is so dumb he believes it shouldn't matter if SD is there.

So I decided that when I do go to my bucket list location, I'm either going after SD is long gone (several years from now) or I'm going alone. The last thing I want is SD there to ruin it.

ncgal1980's picture

I've always wanted to go to Vegas. Ever since I was a kid and saw pictures of the place, I've wanted to go there. I've never been able to afford it.

So guess where DH took BM several times? Yep, Vegas! You should hear him go on and on about it. It makes me SICK.

I still want to go, but I don't want DH to take me there. Somehow I feel like it just wouldn't be the same. I'd rather go by myself.

If I go with DH, I KNOW I'll have to hear, "Oh, BM and I stayed here once," or "BM really loved this place. We should go there! I haven't been in a while, so it'd be nice to see it again!"

God, screw that. I'd just rather not go than to have to listen to stuff like that the entire time.

wth was I thinking's picture

Go by yourself/with girlfriends. You will have so much more fun anyway, and you get the added bonus of men buying you drinks everywhere you go if you are sans man. Vegas is a tacky, loud, EXPENSIVE place, but the kind of place you want to go to once, just to say you did.