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What to do about adult DSS visiting over Christmas

396 replies

sunshinelover69 · 08/12/2021 12:23

Back story: I have one DD18 and DH has two sons 14 and 21. Eldest is in final year of uni and rarely visits (he spend a couple of nights here in the summer but decided to stay in uni town over the summer to work). He is due to visit over Christmas. The issue is we no longer have a spare room as I needed office space (WFH permanently and was previously working in a corner of our bedroom which was causing me issues with sleeping). We agreed that if his eldest wanted to visit we would put an airbed on youngest's floor and he could bunk in with him. All good in theory. But in practice only really works for the odd night - there's a big age difference and the boys will need their own space. I was under the assumption that eldest would maybe stay the odd night and DH would arrange other activities with him in order that he can still see him over the Christmas period (he has a bedroom at his mum's house about 5 miles away). But we've clearly had a bit of miscommunication as DH is under the impression that eldest will come for 6 nights over the Xmas period, ie the same nights that his youngest will be here. I feel like this is untenable with the sleeping arrangements and we're all going to be under each other's feet.

Who is right? Also for context my DD will be spending the whole of Christmas here - she's in her first year of uni and doesn't see her dad for a whole host of reasons which I won't go into but needless to say it's for her own mental wellbeing that she doesn't see him.

OP posts:
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SpaceshiptoMars · 09/12/2021 09:44

There's also no effort whatsoever in moving a computer for a few days. I'm sure many of us did it on lockdown

This is not just a computer. I don't think you guys quite get it. OP has the major job. She supports the whole household financially, and takes the professional load necessary to make that happen. On top of that, because she is the organised one, she has also had the full domestic load foisted on her for years. She is cracking under the strain. She cannot handle the extra random factor of the DSC who games half the night and then sleeps for the best part of the day, only emerging to empty the fridge of half the ingredients for that nights main family meal!

rookiemere · 09/12/2021 09:53

@SpaceshiptoMars yes in common with most of us the OP has a job, it's not unusual.

Not sure where the DSS 21 playing games all night and raiding the fridge has come from, seems like the actions of a much younger child, so lock the fridge and/or tell DSS and DH that they're responsible for replacing anything missing.

candlelightsatdawn · 09/12/2021 10:04

If the OP had a computer set up similar to mine, this means actually transporting it around is a absolute nightmare, it's no a grab and go type situation.

I'm not sure what's going on here or why this thread is so long, the DS son's share a room over the Christmas period. This isn't sibling set of a teenage girl and older boy sharing.

People seem to have hijacked the whole thread based on OMG you have given away your SC room for a study and you must hate him.

This doesn't need to be a thing. The simplest option usually the right one.

sunshinelover69 · 09/12/2021 10:06

@SpaceshiptoMars must have seen into my house because that's exactly the situation.....agree the original question has been somewhat sidestepped but I have had some helpful answers so thanks. I have clearly been overthinking it and I need to let my inner control freak go and step back.

OP posts:
supersonicginandtonic · 09/12/2021 10:07

@SpaceshiptoMars and back in the real world, parents make sacrifices the world over for their children and step children. Everybodies job is major ffs, no matter what they do. This last 2 years have shown how families can adapt. It's 6 days, the OP had chosen to be a martyr and in all honesty she is being quite selfish in this situation. She's being asked to accommodate him for 6 days over Christmas and make him feel welcome. It is quite obvious she doesn't want him there. If he was asking to move in then it would need more thinking through but it's a few days

thevassal · 09/12/2021 10:08

@Babyiskickingmyribs

Are you working over that period or not? If you’re on holiday, put a bed for him in the office. If you are working, give him the choice of bed in the office but must vacate at X time on the relevant days so you can work, or sharing with his brother.
You've now confirmed you'll be working a bit so do this. DH can do stuff with him during the say time while you work. If he's really miserable he can always go to his mums but really you should be doing whatever you can to make him welcome, including working in a coffee shop/just off your laptop in your room or something for the short overlap between you working and him being in his room - it seems unfair to expect your uni age dd living away to have a room to herself for when she comes home but your sons uni age ds to only begrudgingly be allowed one or two nights max on an air bed on someone else's floor.
aSofaNearYou · 09/12/2021 10:12

[quote supersonicginandtonic]@SpaceshiptoMars and back in the real world, parents make sacrifices the world over for their children and step children. Everybodies job is major ffs, no matter what they do. This last 2 years have shown how families can adapt. It's 6 days, the OP had chosen to be a martyr and in all honesty she is being quite selfish in this situation. She's being asked to accommodate him for 6 days over Christmas and make him feel welcome. It is quite obvious she doesn't want him there. If he was asking to move in then it would need more thinking through but it's a few days [/quote]
I'm not sure "back in the real world" is quite the appropriate phrase when saying that sacrifices need to be made rather than two siblings sharing for a few days.

It's very much a line of argument that is grounded in dramatic MN people "just finding it very sad", rather than the real world.

SpaceshiptoMars · 09/12/2021 10:16

yes in common with most of us the OP has a job, it's not unusual.

There are jobs, and there are jobs. Jobs that pay for large houses demand rather more than the 9-5. If men do those jobs, it is assumed that wifey back home is sorting the domestic. If women do those jobs, especially if they are SMs apparently, they end up with the domestic on top. Do this for long enough, no matter how organized you are, and you end up frazzled and burnt out.

Come on Mumsnet for a handhold when you are in this burnt out condition, and the vultures gather to rip your guts out.

As for DSC - well I do have experience! The worries about meals and the comment about sleeping in the office not being practical because he sleeps till lunchtime paints a pictureGrin

Starseeking · 09/12/2021 10:24

It's good that you are now able to see that the boys sharing is fine for the time your DSS is staying, though it's a bit odd you thought it would be an issue in the first place.

My guess is that there is more to this scenario, along the lines of your DH landing things on you, then expecting you to sort them out. This thread is no reflection of your relationship or feelings towards your DSS (for those who say you must hate him), this thread seems to be an expression of your frustration with your DH, which is entirely reasonable, given the above.

Step away from taking on all the mental load, and don't let it get to you OP, and I hope you have a lovely Christmas!

rookiemere · 09/12/2021 10:39

I'm all for OP not picking up the mental or physical load for her DSs .

I don't really see ordering an air bed or telling someone else to order one as a huge burden and that was what appeared to be the nub of the current issue.

Living with Teenagers and young adults- particularly male- can be hellish, I get that. I could cheerfully throttle my DS15 on many occasions for his thoughtlessness and general lack of respect for the house he lives in, but obviously he's my own and I love him.

It sounds like OP has much higher standards from the others living there and as such her choices are to :
A) do it all and get progressively more frustrated with everyone else
B) lower her standards
C) expect more from her DH and pull him
Up every single time the cereal bowl is left out or the chicken eaten so he either tidies it or starts training his DSs
D) accept that she's not well cut out for blended families and separate

It seem that B and C would be the best routes for now.

ForbiddentoForbid · 09/12/2021 10:46

Why is it a problem him sharing with his brother for a very short period of time?

It's not ideal, but if he's with you less than 2 weeks a year they'll just have to get on with it.

Magda72 · 09/12/2021 10:48

Yet again I cannot believe what is expected of an sm on Mumsnet.
I have a weighty job, I work from home a lot, I have a home office & I do all the domestic load.
I'm a dm I don't allow my older kids to turn up adhoc with no approx. start or end date to their leaving!
One extra person DOES affect groceries/cooking etc. if it's for more than one evening.
I could not just pack up my office & work from my bedroom to accommodate anyone - even my dc. And why should I?
I personally find it very difficult working from home if my ds's only get up at midday & start running showers, making food etc. while I'm trying to concentrate/am on calls etc.
At the end of my working day I don't want to go into a kitchen that needs cleaning etc. because my sons are in a different time clock to me.
My 19 & 24 year olds have been told this and they respect it. They know they can come home whenever they want but that short of an emergency I need notice & a time frame to get organised. Neither of them think I'm weird or unreasonable. There's only my dd & myself here the majority of the time & we are in a routine that works very well for us & I don't like that being disrupted ad hoc. Most people wouldn't.
The op's situation is also ad hoc as her dh is doing that classic thing of assuming households run themselves & that women should not only be able to multitask but should also be able to work in any sort of chaos!
Yes his ds should be able to come & stay but it's up to him to sort it & accommodate it. He agreed to the home office for op which accommodates income so there's no point in him moaning about that. If he wanted a room for his ds then he shouldn't have agreed to that, but having agreed to that he should have arranged his other sons room to accommodate them both the odd time.

sunshinelover69 · 09/12/2021 10:55

Thanks @Magda72 you're completely right (and I still don't have a firm timeframe btw) but fuck em all, if there's no food in they can starve or find the supermarket and me and DD will go out for lovely girls lunches/dinners.

OP posts:
sofakingcool · 09/12/2021 11:05

@Definitelynotanathlete

OP, I'd ignore all the comments about the office. Why on earth should OP's daughter not have a bedroom? Why are stepchildren always the golden child? Maybe she doesn't want him to stay. He's 21 and has a bed 5 miles away. Keep your office OP. The outrage on mumsnet regarding step children is comical.
Maybe his Dad wants him to stay? Confused

OP, I can totally understand the room being converted into the office, seems daft to keep a room empty for such a huge part of the year and you to have to manage with no office. I do feel you have to give it up for him to use when he's back though. If he's there for 6 days, do most of those not hit the Christmas period/bank holidays? So is that 4 days of the 6 you won't be working?

sofakingcool · 09/12/2021 11:06

[quote sassbott]@rookiemere, personally?

I would expect the parent to ensure this stuff is taken care of. However, if I was the Op and the bed had been removed to make way for my home office? I would ensure that I did the work to ensure the child had a space.

It’s not wrong to use this as a home office, not one bit. But since the child’s room has been taken because the OP needs this space? I personally think it’s the Op’s responsibility to sort the new sleeping arrangements. Am prepared to be shot down but I’d feel responsible if this was me.[/quote]
Exactly this

sofakingcool · 09/12/2021 11:08

@SpaceshiptoMars

"So you've taken over an entire bedroom for your 'WFH' without a thought for your stepson? hmm That's his home. You've helped yourself to his bedroom! The least you can do is share it and whilst he's visiting, WFH elsewhere in the house! You can't take over his room!!!!"

Oh the outrage! Diddums now.
OP, this is not your child. He is your husband's child. Your husband - you know, the one who has claimed the big office, and made you work in the bedroom. He can bloody well move his desk into the bedroom this time and give his own dear son some space. It is, after all, his responsibility.

You know what? What's the betting that the house is actually owned by the OP, and hers is the main breadwinner job? Highly likely, given that this is Mumsnet!

Oh I must have missed the part about DH having a bigger office, why can't he make space in there for his son?
MichelleScarn · 09/12/2021 11:24

@sofakingcool the dh doesn't he works in the living room.
Wonder how that'll work with the ops dd there all the time though?

sunshinelover69 · 09/12/2021 11:31

HE WORKS IN A CORNER OF THE FUCKING DINING ROOM!!! Please do RTFT. Also he's not working over Christmas anyway.

OP posts:
Derbee · 09/12/2021 11:35

So now you have no issue with the boys sharing a room, you’ll have to think of something else to stop DSS staying

sofakingcool · 09/12/2021 11:37

@sunshinelover69

HE WORKS IN A CORNER OF THE FUCKING DINING ROOM!!! Please do RTFT. Also he's not working over Christmas anyway.
Sorry, I took that info from a previous poster who said he'd taken the biggest office
rookiemere · 09/12/2021 11:55

As your DH isn't working over Christmas surely the obvious answer is that he is responsible for meal planning and cooking during that period.

supersonicginandtonic · 09/12/2021 11:58

@aSofaNearYou the back in the real world comment was regarding tbd comment implying the OPs job was more important than other jobs 🙄

candlelightsatdawn · 09/12/2021 12:38

@Derbee weird weird mentality to say this out loud. OP hasn't said she doesn't want them around ffs 🤦🏼‍♀️

candlelightsatdawn · 09/12/2021 12:40

[quote supersonicginandtonic]@aSofaNearYou the back in the real world comment was regarding tbd comment implying the OPs job was more important than other jobs 🙄[/quote]
What in comparison to every other person in the house who won't be working during this time period ? Only the OP but yes totally right their right to do "whatever whenever" trumps the OPs need to work.

Silly me I forget we are on MN 😵‍💫

rookiemere · 09/12/2021 12:40

To be fair I'm thinking the same as @Derbee ....