Last year, she tries to kill herself 2 weeks before Christmas, on DSD's 18th, with DSD due back from a school trip to Africa the next day. She was due to have dss Christmas (we have alternate years)
I have dealt with all the fall out from DSD, who has become the most fantastic young lady. The stress, TM (their mother) was in intensive care for a week. the financial fall out from trying to get all of them to school and activities.
This year, DP agreed to TM having them for the Sat before christmas, and Christmas eve. Now that has turned into the whole weekend and we still have lost Christmas eve. I know, with hindsight, he should not have agreed, but at the time we were being flexible and trying to do the best for the children.
Now she is facing losing her job in Jan, her mental health is disintegrating and she's up financial creek without the proverbial paddle. She has decided to try to force us to pay her legal bills for the divorce (prior agreement each responsible for their own) and is threatening to stop us seeing dss. lots more, but these are the main points.
She has a big flash wedding planned at a historic house next may, and so needs that piece of paper. So at least there we just need to take no action, as she'll have to make some decisions about that, or she messes up the wedding (right now, bloody tough)
I am so bloody angry. DSD wants as little as poss to do with her, and dss is building a list of resentments. They are trophies, paraded when it suits. Dss is allowed to run loose on the sink estate she moved onto.
And to top it all, right now, I feel the most relaxed christmas I have had in the last few years was the one when we were in a WA refuge! Said it. Dp and I both openly acknowledge that she is being a nightmare, and has spoilt the last two with her behaviour, and he knows that allowing the 2 sats was a bad idea, but I just need somewhere to rant that yet again, her tantrum has caused us grief. We are missing out. My dcs are missing out.