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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

My birthday or uncles funeral...

251 replies

Mayaa6 · 02/05/2017 12:46

Right..I'm asking for some advice as feeling quite miserable but not sure if I'm overreacting/unreasonable/selfish.

I have been with my partner for 4 years, we have a one year old son together. We have had some issues (and we have been attending couples therapy for those) but I generally think he cares about me and our son.

My birthday is coming up next week and except last year (our boy was few weeks old and I was exhausted) he usually planned something special for us to do together.

He found out last week that his uncle died. He has never been in touch with this uncle while we were together..
He found out today that the funeral is on my birthday.
It's 4.5 hours drive to the funeral so if he goes he will be away for 1 or 2 nights.

He called and told me "he has a difficult decision to make" - so he hasn't decided yet to leave me with our boy and bugger off to a funeral of an uncle he had no contact with for years.
He is saying he wants to attend as representative of his mother (she is dead) as his sister who lives close by is away on holidays.

I feel it shouldn't be a "difficult decision" at all and I'm feeling hurt he is seriously considering it.

Do I sound unreasonable?

OP posts:
Starlighter · 02/05/2017 22:00

YABVU!

Your DH sounds like he's doing the decent and respectful thing. Celebrate your birthday on another day, the weekend before or after, whatever.

You need to be supportive of your husband on this, not sulking and making him feel guilty for attending his uncle's funeral!

muckypup73 · 02/05/2017 22:04

Good god, how utterly selfish, the mans uncle has died,but all you want to do is celebrate, unbeilevabley selfish!

PollytheDolly · 02/05/2017 22:12

I have never understood why adults get so childish about their birthdays 

Me neither. My DH is on lates on my birthday. I expect we might do something either the weekend before or after, if I can be arsed. Honestly.

viques · 02/05/2017 22:12

Celebrate your birthday on a different day. I did this when the only possible date for my brothers funeral was my birthday. (Combination of vicars booked holiday, kids birthdays or my birthday) . Suck it up, you are not 6.

Mayaa6 · 02/05/2017 22:13

I will tell you :) I'm actually finding all this judgement very interesting.

My partner has decided not to go to the funeral.

Re his daughter- truly she is not the victim in this situation. Our therapist who knows all the details says I have shown caring and compassion and am doing right by her and my partner. I care for him and love him but my life has been turned upside down due to a crazy ex wife and out of control teenager. Her mother is alive and well btw. and the step daughter has been accusing her of ALL sorts of abusive behaviour which is why we have taken her in full time. Well as soon as there were rules she had to follow in our house (nothing much..keep bedroom tidy, load the dishwasher, take care of her pet animal -this kind of stuff) and there were consequences (again..nothing much..phone taken off her for 24hrs for example) she contacted her mother and made ALL KIND of accusations against us.

btw. My original post is about the funeral..now that my partner decided not to go I will insist he does. I think you are right and I was selfish and unreasonable with the original issue.

OP posts:
DavetheCat2001 · 02/05/2017 22:15

Haven't RTFT but yes you are being VU, which I get the impression most people have already said.

So there you go.

Mo55chop5 · 02/05/2017 22:24

This has gone well then OP........

KittenSchmitten · 02/05/2017 22:28

Shock Of course he has to attend the funeral.

A few years ago my DH attended his uncle's funeral on HIS (DH's) birthday. Wouldn't have dreamt of not attending.

DavetheCat2001 · 02/05/2017 22:28

hmm..just caught up a bit and read your subsequent posts about your stepdaughter.

You sound like you have some serious issues.

stonecircle · 02/05/2017 22:50

Well done op for recognising that the funeral trumps your birthday.

For what it's worth, my 3 (18-22) remain incapable of keeping their rooms tidy, removing dirty dishes/clothes, loading the dishwasher. Sort of goes with the teen territory I'm afraid. 24 hour phone removal is a mega punishment for a teen and likely to induce meltdown in even the most reasonable of them!

Floggingmolly · 02/05/2017 22:56

I told him very explicitly that I don't want to live with his daughter
...and don't want her to stay in my house, under my care
Yet your therapist assures you you have shown her caring and compassion and are doing right by her?
Either you're lying to your therapist or you're lying now Hmm
The whole unedifying tale is shameful.

muckypup73 · 02/05/2017 22:58

Mayaa6,soyouare the op andyou diddnt like the answers you got, so have drip fed???? why didnt you say all this in the original post?

ShoesHaveSouls · 02/05/2017 23:10

OP, I'm pleased you'll tell you dp to go to the funeral - but you're onto a loser with your 15yr old sd.

So much communication is non-verbal, your attitude towards her on here WILL come across to her irl - how can you say that someone's child is not 'part of the deal' ? That's horrible behaviour.

I have a 15yr old DS - he moans if he has to empty the dishwasher. He moans if it's not pizza for dinner, his room is a tip. I would never take his phone away for this! That's heavy handed - and I'l bet you a pound to a penny that when your DS is 15, you'll be more understanding.

Mayaa6 · 02/05/2017 23:22

Flogginmolly - the deal to not live with his daughter was made 4 years ago..I believe in honesty and didn't feel like I could move in with 2 people full time. I told him so he would know exactly how I feel. I wouldn't have agreed to live together unless he understood and accepted my views.

As for not wanting to stay with her on my own..well I feel taken for granted..I want him to ask and recognise I'm doing stuff for him and it's on my expense!

Re phone taken off-ShoseHaveSouls- it was for serious neglect of pet she brought with her when she moved it..she left the animal hungry for days!once I cought up on what was happening the decision was made that if she thinks its ok to leave a pet hungry she should experience loss of something important to her...only had to happen twice :) oh and therapists approves of discipline and responsibility for teenagers

OP posts:
ferando81 · 02/05/2017 23:26

Yes you sound like a very selfish immature person.He sounds like a kind considerate person

Floggingmolly · 02/05/2017 23:26

You didn't feel you could move in with 2 people full time... Was she actually living with him full time?
What sort of custody arrangements were in place, and did he change them for you? Shock

ExplodedCloud · 02/05/2017 23:28

Was the pet a rabbit?

Mayaa6 · 02/05/2017 23:30

She lived with her mother full time but came over for 1 or 2 nights per week+holidays.
I was fine with that and we were getting along really well then. Once she moved in 100% of the time things have changed dramatically.

OP posts:
CuppaTeaTeddy · 02/05/2017 23:31

You don't feel like living with 2 people full time but whether the daughter was there or not, you would still have your husband and son. Am I being really stupid, or is that still 2 other people?

Astro55 · 02/05/2017 23:43

Teens are arsey - rude - eye rolling creatures. They are trying to find their way and sit exams as well as battling hormones friendships and boys or girls)

generally known be messy and somewhat lazy and entitled - goes with the age!

Mine wouldn't have phones if they were removed for not cleaning their rooms - their mess they can lie in it!!

No wonder she's rebelling - do you have OCD?

KittyConCarne · 03/05/2017 00:07

Op, I've read through the full thread now, and with regards to your latest post- I think it's good that you've realised YWBU and selfish with the original funeral issue, and that you'll be encouraging your DH to attend.
I'm sure you'll be able to celebrate your birthday shortly after his return- it is hard to feel unappreciated/ unprioritised in a relationship (especially when couples therapy is exploring/ raising hard things to hear), but honestly in this instance there is no question that a funeral takes precedence.

However, for me, your posts about your SDD are hard to read. I know that your updates are only a snapshot of your issues, and perhaps you're not expressing yourself well, but the gist of it comes across as very derogatory and hateful towards your SDD. Your language and thinly disguised animosity towards the child is just plain wrong. For you to have laid down such strict initial rules about this child's involvement with your family life, really implies that you were not in a suitable position to enter into a relationship with her father in the first place. However, you are where you are right now, and you need to be making the best of it, even if that requires significant changes on your part. Your DHs 15 year old daughter is most definitely a child, and you just cannot blame her for issues in your relationship with her father. If cracks have started to show since she moved in, then I would suggest that those cracks have always been there/ not been caused by her. A solid relationship would be weathering the teenage storm together, not allowing a wedge to be driven between it.

FWIW, I have a 15 DSD, who has lived with us 50% since she was 1, and full-time since she was 10. She has a turbulent and emotionally damaging relationship with her mother, who she has fortnightly 2 hour contact with.
Accusations a-plenty on both sides, tantrums, outbursts, total breakdowns have ensued since puberty, but I still love the bones of that child. Her destructive and hurtful outbursts towards her father and I could so easily be written off as deliberate/ manipulative/ bratty behaviour, but the reality is that she is a child who has been emotionally damaged from a young age, and who at times of change or uncertainty will push against us in order to test if we will also let her down/ get rid of her, as has been her experience of the world so far. It is hard-going, intense at times, frustrating and tiring, but that is the job of a parent/ step-parent that I signed up to, no matter what were the original arrangements when I first got with my DP, or what I envisioned our future would look like. Her unsettled childhood and damaging family dynamic is our job to help her navigate through. She is my family in all but blood, and I will nurture, love, protect, support and simply hold her when all else fails, until such a time as she is old enough to deal with the complex issues and grievances she is battling with, in the hope that she comes out the other side as unscathed as possible.

As well as attending couples counselling with your DH, if you are serious about being with him and his daughter, then you should both be arranging counselling for your DSD to help her with her obvious unhappiness, building your relationship with her through time spent and patient effort given from you, encouraging your DH's relationship with her one-to-one and with the whole family, making sure that you present a united discipline front with your DH, involving your wider family with her to show she is a loved and much wanted member of your nuclear set-up, fostering a wonderful relationship between your DS and DSD to make her realise the simplistic love and adoration of a younger sibling, engaging with her on her hobbies and actively sourcing further similar interests to broaden her horizons, helping her to apply for further education and weekend job settings in your local area so she knows without a shadow of a doubt that her future is assumed and very much wanted at home settled with you and DH.

I wish you luck for the future.

Charlie97 · 03/05/2017 00:20

If you enter into a relationship with a person that has a child, you have to accept they have parental responsibility.

Your dictating how your life with them will be, I.e. "Your daughter doesn't live with us full time" is wasting your breath. His daughter comes above you (rightly) remember that! Suppose her mother had become ill, died or as happened they have had a falling out.

The of course his daughter goes to her other parent. Her father is everybody as responsible as her mother for her well being.

As a PP said, it's MY son, MY house etc. Your son is not yours alone, it should be OUR son. You never know this delightful small child could turn into a nightmare teenager...then I suppose you may feel differently.

So, now your poor long suffering OH had agreed to your demands he doesn't go to the funeral. Or arrange the holiday for HIS daughter. Are you happy now?

No? You've now got your way and you're going to demand he changes the plans again?

I hope when you blow out the candles on your cake (I'm sure your exacting MY birthday standards, will mean a cake with the exact amount of candles!) you'll be really happy?? You've upset your OH, stepdaughter but you've got your planned birthday spiking.

Honestly will your birthday even be enjoyable now? So much bad feeling and stress?

You sound very controlling, jealous and demanding!

Charlie97 · 03/05/2017 00:24

Spiking - spoiling

Bringmesunshite · 03/05/2017 07:07

"Once she moved in 100% of the time things have changed dramatically."

And you think this was to make your life horrible ? Nothing to do with what she might have been going through? As the child?
I'm sure it's been tricky, even soul destroying at times. But you are the adult and this is her home. Your ds will be at that stage sooner than you think.

FrancisCrawford · 03/05/2017 07:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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