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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Living under my Mums shadow, ruining our lives.

110 replies

sugarplumfairy28 · 01/06/2016 07:13

Sorry in advance this is most likely to be long winded.

I used to have a very very good relationship with my Mum. She would look after our children 2-3 days a week while I worked full time. If I didn't see her in a day we would call each other.

3 ish years ago DH and I decided we were going to emigrate (rent in Germany). We went to my parents to tell them of our decision. The plan then changed due parents needing to sell their house and wasn't going to be left with enough capital to buy in the UK. Long story short, parents would buy a house (specifically a 2 generation house, very common here) which suited both our needs. DH and I would pay household bills. The house in my inheritance.

So 2 years ago, we came house hunting, we found a house but it didn't meet mine and DH's needs. In the long run it could do, but even in the short term it wasn't good. My parents really wanted the house, and promised that certain things would be done within 2 or 3 months to make it livable. I took them at their word and agreed we would go for this house.

It's hard to explain, the house is 4 story's in total. Cellar, ground floor, 1st floor and 2nd floor which is only part converted. Mum has the cellar and ground floor. The only entrance is on the ground floor. The 1st floor is sort of split in two. There are 2 bedrooms off the landing, and a partition with a door, behind this door is our living room, kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom. This is what we have to live in. The children hate the door and both have expressed feeling isolated being in either of the 2 bedrooms. Last week, I single handily finished installing a kitchen (a gift from my Uncle), we have had work benches and no cupboards for 2 years, Mum actually had a tantrum because it's nicer than hers. The bathroom still isn't finished and is beyond my knowledge to do it, my Dad has given up. I have decorated the living room and all the bedrooms (twice due to a reshuffle) I feel that we have put up with a lot. We had no sink anywhere for 9 months, until one was replaced in the bathroom. The bathroom is mostly covered in bin bags to try and keep it dry. I had no oven or cooking device for 6 months, until my MIL got us a travel oven thing with two hobs on top and have used that for a family of 4.

My Mum has turned into a controlling and manipulative obsessed person. She constantly nags me about paying more than what the bills are, for reasons unknown. She screams and shouts if she doesn't get her way i.e apparently the garden is my problem (despite having no direct access to it) if the grass, which is around a third of an acre, isn't cut, edges and all, we get the slamming of doors, shouting and filthy looks until it is done. They go to bed very early (9pm) and complain endlessly if we are out past that. Mum has told me several times that we can NOT! have any more children, or pets. When DH is at work she talks to me in the horrific way. She completely take the children for granted but Mum actually has a go at the children for 'ignoring' her when my in-laws are over (who the children haven't seen for months). My Mum made a huge huge fuss for my brothers 30th birthday, for mine (in Feb) I literally got nothing, in fact I got a lectre about how it's no big deal, and that when she was 30 it was no big deal, her gift to me was babysitting the night before so DH and I could go to someones housewarming party, I hadn't been out socially since the July before... which was actually a BBQ we hosted and my parents actually offended our guests so much they left.

DH has a 3 hour each way commute and is very tired. Our children are not happy, I think partly because Daddy is basically a weekend Daddy and this constant bad air in the house. We are waiting for a call on a new job for him. We're not in a position to move out due to money, and if we do, I will lose my Dad (who isn't the problem but seems like a beaten down shell of what he used to be) and DD will lose her very special relationship she has with him.

I just need a friend, I feel so bullied and low in general

OP posts:
AndYourBirdCanSing · 02/06/2016 14:03

Sorry just to add, did you and your husband split up for that time due to your mother's behaviour?

Kimononono · 02/06/2016 14:17

op wake up. What are you doing? You have been beaten down so much you cannot see anyway out but there always is.

You have to go for your Dh sake. He is ill and she and this situation is making him worse.

The relationship between you and your mother has been ruined. You will never get it back. You can not sacrifice your Dh and family for your dad either.

Do not pay any rent or bills untill you have enough to quickly move out. Even if it's a B&B. It's ok to do this because your parents (and this includes your dad ) did not keep up to their part of the deal.

Moving out is top priority. For every one in your little family unit especially your Dh.

If you was in a violent relationship would you care about paying bills and debts for one or two months untill you had your kids in to safety? Well why is this any different? Your being abused and your Dh is really suffering because of it.

Start protecting your family instead of pandering and being to scared to go against your parents.

Flowers sounds hidious big you have to do something you are never as trapped as you think you are. Forget about the house. Screw them

Kimononono · 02/06/2016 14:32

You are not a prisoner here op, neither are your Dh or children. Cut your losses and and get you and your family out

sugarplumfairy28 · 02/06/2016 14:45

Glass I'm afraid not, DH has a mental illness and is therefore 'unsuitable' for a job that over here involves guns. He is managed and is perfectly fine normally, plus plus he is not a gun fan. We're just holding out on hope on this other job.

BirdCanSing everything literally hangs on this job. In laws are in the UK and not in a position to help with something as big as coming up with a deposit. We split up because of me, it wasn't DH at all. This is where it gets shitty, I was being bullied at work! By my manager, who was so insecure in himself and had it in for me from day 1 because we both applied for the job. I was DH's carer and my manager would pull me in to tell me how my life bores him, how I was terrible at my job (which I wasn't, I had the best productivity in the whole team and had job survey results) and was on a mission to get me to quit me job. What Mum did that day was a one off, but it was the final straw and I had a nervous breakdown. I felt like I was failing at everything, being a daughter, a parent, an employee and then as a wife because I couldn't manage my parents and their impact on our children.

Kimononono You are totally right! While the over all plan is to get out as quickly as possible, the finer detail is getting out with the important things, and not leaving the door open to further abuse. Pretty much all my life people have tried taking away things that are important to me, and for my sanity I have to make sure that in the long run that doesn't happen.

OP posts:
Kimononono · 02/06/2016 15:51

sugar forget the long run, bricks and mortar and money in the bank mean nothing when your family is in shreds.

It you stay securing the finer details your exposing yourself, your kids and your Dh to more trauma. Finer details can come when your in a tiny flat or a B&B.

What are your finer details? What's chaining you to that house?

Is it F.O.G?
Is it the thought of sticking it out for the house to be yours eventually?

What if your Dh has a complete mental break down tomorow. Could you honestly look at yourself in the mirror and say 'well I was hanging on for the finer details'.

With abusive parents or anybody they are not 'nasty' all the time. They can also be incredibly kind which keeps you coming back because you are kept in a state of confusion that it isn't really that bad. Walking on egg shells and bullied on your own home, your own safe safe space makes you blind to how fucked up a situation can be untill you are out of it.

Sit and think about what the bare minimum you, Dh and kids could cope with eg.

Could I walk out of here tonight and all of us sleep in car?

Could we walk out of here tonight and go to a B&B? Would we have enough money till we got paid?

Could we walk out here in two weeks after not paying a penny in to this house and using that money for B&B or deposit for rent?

Could we walk out of here and fly to in laws and regroup there?

There are options that you can do now x

Kimononono · 02/06/2016 15:52

I've been NC with my mother for 15 years by the way. I know what a head fuck this situation can be

IAmTheWhoreOfBabylon · 02/06/2016 15:59

You need to move out. You are unhappy and putting your money into a property you are not likely to benefit from
They will have to take in lodgers or sell
Surely you can move and rent rather than living like this

sugarplumfairy28 · 02/06/2016 16:17

OK I know I'm going to be judged but some of the finer details are pets. Other things are the kids and school and that a change of routine can be crippling for them. Other things is our stuff. It has been so so hard to get the kids settled, and we're not quite there. They have both expressed needing to know where they belong and where their home is, obviously not with those words but things that add up to that.

I know stuff is just stuff, but a lot of it I have made, and I'm not prepared to leave it so my parents can sell it and make money out of it. If we just get up and leave we will never ever be allowed back in, so all our keepsakes, kids toys, photos are gone, and not something I'm prepared to let happen.

Pets, I know some people aren't that into them but I am. They are my coping mechanism, they are a huge part of our family, and it is simply not an option whatsoever to leave them behind. When I was 5, my parents didn't want to move house with our dog, so they handed him in as a stray to the police, a week later he was put to sleep. I found this out some years later and was devastated. We do have a lot of pets, and well that's just us. Also DH ended up in hospital in the UK after the prospect of having to give up our pets due to landlords selling/not finding a new landlord and no pet policy. Given what my Mum is like, it's not a case of coming back for them.

DH is managed, and obviously we're both stressed, DH knows that it all starts with a new job, then we come up with a precise exit plan.

OP posts:
RunRabbitRunRabbit · 02/06/2016 16:19

Your mum is abusing you. You are in an abusive relationship there.

You are right that you can't win an argument with someone like that. All you can do is detach and leave.

Part of detachment is stopping her from lecturing you all day, which if she is anything like my DM, means being physically out of the house, or getting her to fall out with you so she sulks and thus leaves you alone.

Are you ready to detach yet?

homeaway · 02/06/2016 16:30

Op to move back to Uk does not always cost that much if you pack yourselves and use a small company. If you can do a part load it is cheaper. I hope you find a solution soon.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 02/06/2016 16:32

You are all being abused by your parents. This will continue as long as you all remain in that house of horrors.

Re your comment:-

If we just get up and leave we will never ever be allowed back in, so all our keepsakes, kids toys, photos are gone, and not something I'm prepared to let happen.

Would you want to at all go back there anyway?. Does not sound like it. Build new memories rather than taking the old ones with you

Your dad is primarily her enabler; he has purely acted out of self preservation and want of a quiet life here. He has also failed you as a parent.

Why are pets such a coping mechanism to you; is it because of what happened to your dog when you were younger?.

I doubt very much that this house will ever be your inheritance either.

What price your DHs health and well being?

diddl · 02/06/2016 16:48

How did your parents get over there without fulltime jobs to support themselves?

If your husband doesn't get the job he is after then why not move to rent close to his work?

Leave your parents to fend for themselves.

As for wanting more money from you, of course she might fuss & be nasty, but she can'y force you to hand it over!

sugarplumfairy28 · 02/06/2016 16:55

Meetkat I know it sounds like an excuse, but I just can't see how it would be possible to pack a car and leave so much behind without it causing further hurt, that may well last a life time. Things from when the children were babies, my wedding dress, things from my late Nan, DH's pride and joy, his guitars. DH's custom built computer, to name a few things, not to mention how difficult and expensive it would be to replace all our furniture. DH knows what it is to leave a home and pretty much everything as a child and it isn't something he wants to ever do to our children.

Pets - maybe it stems back to my childhood dog, I did a degree in Animal Management and had planned to have an animal based career, not for lack of want that I don't have one but that's a different story. Both DH and I are animal people. There wasn't even a discussion as to whether to bring them here with us, it was a given and an expense we 'happily' paid.

While I appreciate that my husband does have an illness, everything I have said is in agreement with him, walking out of here with nothing that we have worked so hard for, isn't something he feels he can cope with, having to reduce pet numbers is also something he cannot deal with. At all costs, especially for DH the moving out has to be as 'normal' as possible when it comes to the children.

OP posts:
glassgarden · 02/06/2016 17:03

it sounds like your mum has you over a barrel Sugarplumb and she's making full use of the situation to exercise her power over you :(

AndYourBirdCanSing · 02/06/2016 17:17

I do understand how difficult it is to work out the logistics when you feel so trapped. I am desperately unhappy in the area we live and finding it difficult to work out how we can move any sooner than I have planned, and we don't have any of your added problems! It is truly awful that you believe your mother would refuse to let you return for your things. How anyone could do that to their child and grandchildren... Angry

So, let's say your husband gets this job- how long until he starts, realistically ? How long will it take you to save up enough to rent a house and the moving costs? I do understand why you don't want to as you but I would seriously be considering coming back to the UK to put as much distance between you as possible . I do get why you want to stay in Germany though, especially as your children are doing so well in school

Kimononono · 02/06/2016 17:28

They are just things sugar

Your Dh mental health (never mind that it's managed) and your own sanity and the fact your kids are growing up in an abusive hold hold is way more important than things

You are putting pets and things you have made in front of human beings.

In the nicest possible way op your being part of the problem. If I was your Dh and I knew you were hanging on because of pets and things you had made of leave and take the kids.

They are just things let them go. Is all this really worth it for things??

Kimononono · 02/06/2016 17:29

Children move easily.

As long as mum and dad are happy kids will be happy

AttilaTheMeerkat · 02/06/2016 17:36

"but I just can't see how it would be possible to pack a car and leave so much behind without it causing further hurt, that may well last a life time. Things from when the children were babies, my wedding dress, things from my late Nan, DH's pride and joy, his guitars. DH's custom built computer, to name a few things, not to mention how difficult and expensive it would be to replace all our furniture"

These items are simply holding you back, these are being used as an excuse to stay where you are.

Make new memories and traditions; do not hang onto the past via these items. If they are really that precious to you move them all now into a secure storage lock up facility.

diddl · 02/06/2016 17:41

Could you hire a trailer &/or van?

Put stuff into storage?

I know it's all money, but it would be something to work towards.

Any friends to help?

But as pp says, it really is just stuff.

How often have you even looked at it since you have been there?

sugarplumfairy28 · 02/06/2016 17:48

Kimon I have to be honest and say yes. DH and I aren't going to be happy if we have to leave behind our cats, or my dogs. I cannot express just absolutely heartbroken we would both be, not to mention DS and his cat. Also this isn't just me, it's DH and I. DH will get worse if we're living in a B&B and not sure what's going to happen, it's the uncertainty that affects him, which is why having a Plan and then Plan B is so important. I know people say children move easily, and maybe ours are different, but the process of the language barrier, no friends, being away from family, has been incredibly difficult for them, and we're looking at doing it all over again.

BirdCanSing The job, they want someone to start beginning of July. So if this does all work out, we would start saving money from then, due to the money claimed back from the shorter commute. How much though is difficult to tell as the salary isn't established. We'd be looking at 3 months maybe. 3 months gives me time to pack obviously, look at new schools and Kindergartens without it being incredibly rushed. Sometimes I think about going back to the UK, but the UK itself was a huge huge trigger for DH. The government, the cost of living, the NHS, it would be logical to go back somewhere near family, but to be honest the people there are terrible and DH would have daily episodes from one thing or another. So we'd be going back to a situation we know we don't like.

OP posts:
Sprink · 02/06/2016 17:53

Other things is our stuff. It has been so so hard to get the kids settled, and we're not quite there.

I believe they'll settle better in a home without your parents. None of this conflict can be reassuring.

RandomMess · 02/06/2016 18:08

To be brutal I think your mother is probably the biggest cause of distress in your DC.

Your parents cannot cope in that house, they have no choice but to sell it - not your problem!!!!

I think it's time to put some door locks in place so you can lock your parents out of some of your space so your mother cannot harass you without looking like the loon she is.

Somehow you need to move out. Perhaps you just tell your parents that it isn't working and that you will be leaving, that will force them to put the house up for sale.

MadisonMontgomery · 02/06/2016 18:15

Could you start to put some of your most precious stuff in storage, so you know it's safe whatever? Then as soon as you find out either way about the job, I would stop paying the bills and get somewhere rented ASAP. Maybe have a look and find some kennels & a cattery so you have somewhere your pets could go to in an emergency. I think your mum wants you to stay there no matter what, so I wouldn't rule anything like refusing to let you go & using pets & possessions to do it.

LizKeen · 02/06/2016 18:16

Your kids are picking up on the abusive dynamic. I know you believe it is due to the language barrier and being away from friends and family, but its easier to blame those rational things than to accept how completely damaging this situation is.

I completely understand your attachment to the pets, but you are failing your children. The living conditions you describe are unacceptable and the abuse you are all suffering is abhorrent. You have to protect your children first and foremost.

You owe your parents nothing. Your father is your father, and he is failing to protect you from this. Adult or not, he shouldn't be allowing his child and grandchildren to be treated this way. Don't continue that cycle. Get your kids out.

I know how difficult it is. I am NC with my abusive mum and enabler dad. It is heartbreaking and so much to cope with, but the bottom line is that you have to protect your children. Stop kidding yourself about the true cause of their emotional upset.

Kimononono · 02/06/2016 18:27

I honestly wish you good look op. I don't know how bad things need to get for you to make that jump.

I really really hope you havnt both prioritised the wrong things. What the fuck are you going to go if the job doesn't come through? Will you then wait till Xmas is out of the way? Or wait till after the winter?

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