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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not want dm to stay

4 replies

YellowMellow15 · 10/07/2018 20:45

First time poster here!

Bit of a backstory my dm and i have not been close for several years. Last year we went over 6 months without seeing each other due to her not wanting/couldnt be bothered. Due to location and public transport it took me over 2 1/2 hours to travel to her house but less than an hour by car for her to visit me. Out of the 5 years i lived there she visited twice and one time was to pick up my sister. She has no issue to driving hours away for other people such as boyfriends (one lived in the next town over and they dated for a year) or shopping. With phone calls it was usually her complaining about family and money and interupting anything i said.

Anyway my issue now is that me and dh have just bought a new house. And it is brand new. It is also 8hrs away from dm.

She is now talking about coming down and staying for a week. The issue is i dont want her to. Partly because we arent close and i have not spend more than 4 hours at once with her in 10years but also because she is not clean.

I left home because i could not stand to be living in an actual hoarder house. There was only one path through the house cause its overflowing with everything rubbish, newspapers, you name it. It is even worse now that she has pets. The dogs pee and poo everywhere and it doesnt get cleaned, food is always left out and rotten etc. And her personal hygiene is very low. She does have mental illness but has used it more of a shield to not do anything rather than get better no matter how many people have helped.

Aibu to not want her to stay in my new house? I know if she said here for a week she would shower only once and at least one outfit be covered in dog pee.
What would you do in this situation?

OP posts:
Ellafruit1 · 10/07/2018 20:50

It’s your home, it’s up to you who you invite to stay.

If she wasn’t your mother would you want her to stay?

She’s invited herself (rude). I’s not rude to respond to her you haven’t invited her and that it’s not convenient for her to stay. You don’t need to give reasons.

whatwouldkeithRichardsdo2 · 10/07/2018 20:56

Does she want to bring the dogs with her? That would be a total no for me.

My elderly mother is like this. I don't like it at all. I do put special sheets on when she comes. It's a bit grim. Could you make a mental decision to have things she can use then you chuck out?

Have you asked her why she never drives to you? My mother also doesn't travel to us and I have had to tell her that I can make it down when I can. If there is no flexibility then it is what it is. I've become less tolerant and more capable of allowing her to be upset. Especially as the fog has lifted and I understand far better when she is being unreasonable.

YellowMellow15 · 11/07/2018 09:40

@ella thats true. Its just the whole confrontation of it all. She was talking about either the summer or christmas. Summer i could get out of it but its difficult to say no during xmas.

@keith i'm not sure. Me and dh have already said no to the dogs but i dont know if she would listen.
Yeah, she always said the drive was too far and when i called her out on other journeys she would just cry and say sorry, so not much there.
Thats a good idea. I'm sorry you have had to deal with that too. I can feel myself becoming less torlerant as well. Just difficult when its mum you know?

OP posts:
Ellafruit1 · 11/07/2018 12:20

Yep totally get that the associated feelings are difficult - the guilt, feeling bad about rejecting her.

But it’s really okay to look after your needs first, then everyone else second.

My therapist says be kind to myself in this kind of situation - be aware that while you’re talking to her and for a short time afterwards you might feel bad or guilty. But hold strong to what you know is right for you and calmly state what you need - ‘it’s not convenient for you to stay, I’m sorry but I can’t have you over’. Be gentle to yourself about it afterwards. It’s okay to feel these things and feelings pass. Your feelings don’t have to dictate what you do though, and if taking an action is contrary to your feelings that’s okay. When you let yourself feel your feelings and accept that you have them they actually pass pretty quickly.

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