I know I am unreasonable... But why???!!!

[readyornot2011]

Middle class angst alert!

I should start by saying I have a lovely life and a lot to be grateful for. I've been with my DH for 13 years, married for 4, we have struggled for many years to create the life we wanted and now in many ways we are living the dream. He has his dream job, we have just bought a beautiful home, one fabulous dd and another child on the way.

My DH is a wonderful husband, he treats me beautifully, helps a lot with our daughter and around the house and despite the fact he is now the only wage earner, he lets me wear the trousers in most aspects of our life including complete financial control.

I love him dearly and know I'm lucky to have him.

But

I'm mean to him... And I don't even know why. I'm sulky and quiet, I seem to take everything he says the worst way. My mind finds a way to make myself the victim in any situation. Eg. Yesterday dd was having a tantrum over dinner and he stepped in and calmed her down and then bathed her and put her to bed even though he'd had a terribly early start at work. Somehow I took this as an insult to my parenting and then got annoyed because it took him ages to get her bathed and so our dinner was 'spoiled' (it was fine).

Why? Why? Why? Why can't I just say gracious thank you and compliment his parenting skills as I should've. I'm not an insecure person, I'm confident and strong.

We have had quite a shift in our roles. I supported him for nearly 5 years while he retrained for this job and then we moved abroad for his dream job meaning I gave up my job and am now a SAHM. So I used to be the sole breadwinner and now he is but as I said he still leaves it to me to run our lives. Our life now is immeasurably better but I do miss having a job and my world can be very 'small' these days. He is at home with us a lot of the time because of shift patterns.

I should also add I have tried to talk to him about it although I don't think I've accurately represented to him what goes on in my head. He doesn't seem to recognise the behaviour I describe and just reassures me that I'm a wonderful wife and mother and that parenthood is tiring and I need to rest more and take more time for myself. Which is kind and probably true. I think a lot of my frustration happens in my head and all he see's is that I'm quiet and short tempered and assumes I'm tired. Plus, I suspect he likes that I'm quite feisty and he would hate it if I was the stepford wife full of false smiles and enthusiasm.

Finally I'm not always like this, sometimes I can see things quite rationally and enjoy his company (or not) normally. I know I sound pathetic, spoilt and brattish. I should pull my socks up count my blessing and treat my DH with the love and respect he deserves. I have tried, really.

Most worryingly I recognise my behaviour from my Dad. He, like me, only behaves that way with certain people and to everyone else he is sweetness and light .(he was always wonderful to my sister and I) It drove me crazy growing up and now I'm doing the same thing.

I know it's a trifle compared to other problems but I've seen my Dad destroy relationships needlessly and painfully because of this and I don't want to do the same thing.

Any idea as to what my problem is and what I can do about it would be gratefully received.

I think BabyDubs is right and you need to feel more fulfilled in every day life-volunteering or a part time job maybe? If it helps, I recognise everything in your OP and could have written it myself. I have a lovely life but I am often naggy, stressed and stressful to be around. I don't like myself for it.

One thing you can throw yourself into is learning the language. This will be a really useful thing and allow you to get out and do a lot more. Plus it is a good mental challenge. Ideally it would be great if you could join a class so you can get out and meet people too. If not treat that as your at home job and try and get out and meet people as often as possible in some other way. But set yourself a fairly challenging goal to learn the language in say 6 months to a year depending on how easy you find it, and really work at it. Maybe find out if you can take an exam as proof of your skills and work towards that.

I really need to sort this out now before DC2 arrives and life gets immeasurably harder

It sounds like your dh has a good job is the money enough to afford some childcare so you can do some of these things?

Marking place

But how do I rid myself if a resentment that I don't actually regret?

You are allowed to grieve choices you've made that you don't regret.

I'm a freelancer, so I work out of the home part time. I gave up a really good career to do this for DS who has SN and needs someone home for him after school (wouldn't have coped with after school clubs, for example, as he has social issues). My career was flexible enough for the nursery years but really not for the school years.

As a result, I do a lot more of the SAHM things than I ever envisaged, because I'm here. As evidenced by DH doing some washing the other week and not being able to work the machine. Which we've had for six months.

So does a part of me 'miss' career me? Yes. Do I wish I hadn't had to make such a stark choice? Yes. Do I realise I'm incredibly lucky in being able to build a still good, lucrative career round school hours? Yes. Do I regret having the opportunity and ability to put my DS' needs first? No, of course not. All these things can co-exist at once.

The choices we've made are right for our family. Doesn't mean they were right for me. But I had a good go before, and I'll no doubt get another shot at putting myself first later. Sometimes you just have to accept and let go.

by chosing to be at home with your children is quite a hard thing to do ime I think perhaps the resentment is sort of in you but you don't see it you may see your role is mother and you should do it all for the children because your dh gives you all a nice life itswim

How has your life been enriched immeasurably by investing in his career and moving abroad?

I'm not challenging you, just wondering if you can actually articulate this more specifically, as that may help.

Too often women see the family unit doing better and assume that things are better for themselves too. But you are your own unique person too, with your own needs. It sounds like you've sacrificed a lot to get where you are now, and also that being a SAHM has not been your dream goal that would make all that sacrifice automatically worthwhile (if that makes sense).

I would be immensely frustrated if I saw DH doing my dream job every day. I think you are being too hard on yourself frankly, that would irritate most people.

Can you work online in any way? Teach English via skype even? I think you've been very generous to put your life on hold for a few years but there are things you can do to feel less isolated, maybe.

I think i meant what dream said but they put it far better than i could, it is all fine and dandy a partner doing their thing but sometimes mothers feel left behind even if it was easier for us to actually stay at home with the children , if any of that makes sense

exactly, mrsjay

It's really really hard to make these kind of sacrifices. Yet mothers are expected to do it and be happy about it because everyone else is happy.

Btw counselling is not an extreme thing. I wouldn't rule it out. It may help you find a new way of looking at things, which so often is all we need to feel better.

A fair question dream it's difficult to see 'my' life outside the context of our family but I take your point.

In England we both worked and shared childcare, which was a nice balance. We rented a small damp house in a nice town, there was rarely any money left at the end of the month ( usually a deficit to be honest) we had no hope of buying a house of our own. I had a job that I was good at, a company car and all that but if I'm honest it wasn't going anywhere indeed many of my colleagues have been made redundant since I left. DH did the same dream job on a self employed basis with no security or guaranteed income. We both spent a lot of time with DD but not so much as a family or as a couple. We often spent the weekend on the motorway for fleeting visits with family. We were exhausted, skint and frustrated by the fact our life wasn't going anywhere, we were enjoying being new parents but really just surviving in many aspects.

In France DH earns much more and has a lot more security so we can afford for me not to work. We've managed to buy a house I never could have dreamed of owning. I am an outgoing person and I Have enjoyed the challenge of moving to a new country, I've made lots of friends and got involved with various established clubs and activities and am now organising my own. I've got mum friends who I do childcare swaps with which enables me to take french classes and do some volunteer teaching in local schools. I go into Paris regularly which is still an absolute thrill. The move was a financial blow but we are getting back on our feet and are beginning to have some 'disposable' income. In a few years time the kid(s) will be at school, the training loan will be paid off and I know DH will be more than willing to invest in my career then, which I doubt we would have been in a position to do had we stayed. We still see plenty of our family and now have room for them to stay with us which they do regularly. We go back to the uk every other month to see them too. We spend an awful lot of time together as a family and still manage to share childcare to some extent so we each get time to ourself as well.

So I really do stand by statement that life has improved for me thanks to the move. I am proud of the fact that I'm making a life for myself here but it is hard, and the 'wins' / 'achievements' are not always as tangible or widely recognised as they are in a workplace.

This has been a useful exercise for me, thank you for all your help. I see now that I need to organise my time better with clear goals. I shall try to think of my time as a SAHM as a short term gift to be treasured while it lasts. Finally I shall channel my frustrations into planning a career that I'll find fulfilling and will work alongside my family 3 or 4 years down the line (by which time I'll be fluent at French obviously)

When I feel the bitch fog descend, I'll try and focus on that last paragraph, although I'm sure I've got plenty more tongue biting and internal berating to come.

Maybe I can even help my Dad.

Thanks

I think you will feel better just having a plan and goals there. You are clearly someone who is ambitious and likes a challenge and to be achieving things of value.
You may also be abit hormonal from being preggers. So you need to balance stress reduction with giving yourself that motivation in the form of a tangible achievement you can work towards.
I bet you will find the "bitch fog" comes less often with these changes.

you sounds really busy and enjoy your new life I honestly think you need to just bite your tongue not easy i suppose but if your routine like dinner is broken just grit your teeth and see it as one of those things ,

Ahh j'habite en France aussi

Your life sounds really full so I can see now what you are getting out of it. It does sound really positive. I think you have a really good plan there. Don't be too hard on yourself, you've obviously been through a big adjustment and you can't constantly stay in a positive mindset.

I know it's really cheesy but a friend of mine reminded me of this line recently: the first step to being happy is being grateful. This is so true for me at least, and I find when I'm feeling happy and grateful then it's no effort at all to be nice to everyone.

Good luck with everything!

shower hormones are definately a factor, plus the lethargy/exhaustion of pregnancy means I have achieved a lot less recently which I don't feel good about. Although I have to admit the bitch fog predates pregnancy by some way, possibly even motherhood but it was a rarity then.

mrsjay I (almost) always have bitten my tongue. The 'incident' i described last night, the bath and dinner, I didn't say a thing, in fact I did thank him albeit not that sincerely. All the emotions I described went on in my head. I was quiet and spiky though, this is why he assumes I'm just tired. I'm not trying to justify it, the feelings were totally unwarranted.

dream Nice that you live in France too, my life does sound 'full' written like that, I can assure you the vast majority of the time is spent doing exactly what i'd be doing in England; coaxing DD into eating, wiping her bum and trying to keep her busy so I can carve out a few minutes to get some stuff done. Plus an (un)healthy dose of cbeebies.

It takes time to settle, properly settle in a new country, amongst the initial rush of excitement and change, meeting new people and embracing a new life. It sounds as though you maybe haven't fully let go of the working you and accepted the new role, the role you have actively chosen to undertake for the next few years. You mentioned a pregnancy that ended sadly I'm presuming you lost a baby, if so, I imagine that you are also grieving and this may be the reason that you don't feel as connected to your pregnancy and the newborn life that lies ahead. This maybe an unconscious defense mechanism that you are not aware of happening but maybe in time, with a healthy new baby this will start pass and you can start to settle more as a family in France. I also live abroad and experience similar feelings to you I think, of disconnect to an old life and uncertainty of accepting the new one for fear of losing what I had!

This is rambly and I'm tired, so not sure if it's making sense. The main thing is I don't think YABU on the whole I think your body and mind is in a state of flux and the result is to take it out on the person closest to you, but given you acknowledge that there is an issue there then I'm sure you with time and talking it over with your DH and taking on board the advice above it will work out...