This is likely going to be longwinded but all relevant to where things stand right now.
I was a single mum as a teenager myself, his dad cut all ties in the very early years. Attempts made over the years to make contact but was bluntly told "not interested". Had the usual battles over the year with son's behaviour which hit a real brick wall when he was around 13. By this time I'd had 2 more children with my current partner of 10 years, always played a very supportive role as a step dad and did more than his fair share in parenting battles. When my son was around 14 his dad decided to make contact and they spoke, on and off, over the phone. I supported the idea of a relationship but made it clear the effort I had made his whole life to encourage his dad, non contact was nothing to do with my actions or decisions (dad lived other end of the country). He started skipping school, being abusive at home, destructive, sometimes violent towards me. Reached out for help for myself and for him. Help provided for me was limited, son rejected literally years of battling for mental health support, refusal to engage or attend appointments etc. Eventually he was kicked out of school within his last 2 months of year 11 after repeated outbursts at staff and refusal to follow rules. By this time, he had visited his dad a couple of times, a weekend here and there and we were in support of working together to get son on the right track. Got him into college to redo poor GCSEs with the intention of finding an apprenticeship and it lasted 2 months before he was again, asked to leave for disruptive behaviour and refusal to engage in work. We spent the next 2 months in constant battles trying to figure out where to go next, further refusal to help himself or to cooperate with the rest of the family. By this time, my 2 other children were really suffering for the atmosphere in the house and with very little outside family support, we were breaking under the pressure.
As a last ditch attempt to knock some sense into him about what he was doing to his future, I spoke to his dad about the possibility of him staying with him to sort himself out, thinking that the threat might be enough to make some positive changes. Turned out he had a gf living in the same area and jumped at the chance to leave. I tried to ask him to consider all his options but realised I'd made an offer he wasn't going to refuse and between my mum and his dad, he was moved within 2 weeks. Against my wishes. We were in the process of relocating about 40 miles away for partners work and after he made the snap decision to leave, he cut all contact for 2 months. I gave him his space and it turned out to be a good decision. When we spoke again, the pressure was off our relationship not being under the same roof and he'd managed to secure himself an amazing opportunity as an apprentice with a very good company in the field of work he'd always dreamed of and for a short while, things were going well.
Fast forward to last summer and my dad unexpectedly and suddenly passed away, a week before our house move and shortly before my youngest children were starting a new school. My relationship with my eldest remained the best it had been in a long time and I feel like we really connected and supported each other through a tremendous loss. The level of grief I've experienced since losing a parent has overwhelmed me enormously and I've struggled to find myself since it happened, plans for a fresh start in a new area and kick starting a career I put on hold has been put on pause while I try and navigate my way through. I also suffer health issues and a diabetes related eating disorder, I often feel like I'm drowning in what I need to manage. Since finding out I inherited a sum of money after my dad's passing, my son has had an expectation of what I should be providing for him. I offered to help buy him a car after he passed his test, I've put money away for all 3 grandchildren. But then my eldest stopped paying his phone bill (a contract I am paying for) and started spending all of his wages on not just his gf, but his gfs family. Fine, he earns a wage but I wanted money from his grandad to go towards his future. When we didn't receive birthday cards, the visits stopped and he decided not to come home for Christmas I called him out on it. I said we felt used and forgotten and taken for granted. Yet again, son has cut me off, since the beginning of the year. I have reached out to him and when I have refused to send him money, he has blocked me once again. I've tried his gf and his dad and been met with "respect my space." Today's effort has pushed me over the edge. I feel rejected and used, he will not accept responsibility for how he's made someone else feel and trying to make him understand that, without handing over a wad of cash, is falling on deaf ears.
He turns 18 in May and based on history and knowing him inside out and back to front, I know he will suddenly decide to welcome me back with open arms as that approaches. With the expectation I will be going all out for a significant birthday. I desperately want to be a part of his life but I feel like he expects me to pay for it, that my love is measured by how much I'm willing to spend. It wouldn't sit right with me to accept this is how I need to keep him in my life, but then it doesn't sit right not being a part of his life either.
If you've got this far then thank you! Please be kind, this is genuinely tearing me up and I'm at a loss. I'm a mum first and foremost but what it's doing to my mental health is crippling and I have two other children to consider. Any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated