She has dominated her childrens' lives with little concern for anyones' feeling but her own. She is now in a wonderful assisted living and her dementia (I think) has illuminated her personality into a person who I can no longer bear to be around. She has again managed to alienate everyone around her with her insults and insensitivity. She is nasty and uncooperative with the aids (who are wonderful) And complains, complains, complains about everyone, everything and blames my sister and myself for the air she breathes. I am sick of her and I don't want to visit her anymore and don't feel that my adult children need to be manipulated like I was and be around her negative attitude anymore. I hate feeling obligated to have her at my house as I have every holiday of our lives and force my children to "tolerate" her for my sake. The guilt is unbearable but I feel that now being 60 years old I would like to feel that this person does not dominate my whole life. I would like to have a happy holiday for a change and have my children WANT to come home (without Grandma always there)
There has never been any pleasing her before and now she sends me into bouts of depression that I have a hard time shaking. Am I alone? I feel like a selfish person but I don't like her now and never did before. The guilt is killing me.
So anyway, she just want you to be ethernally grateful to her for "everything she is done" for you... And when she is nice basically to get under your skin with all that niceness. Don't beleive it for a moment. The mother who loves her child will not distroy her life, will not torment her soul, will not play the game of beingnice once in a bluemoon, justto get what she wants...
My mother had many fantasies over time that led to total disappointment for her. One was about how wonderful her marriage to my dad was. All she did was pick fights, argue, bicker, & complain about him until the night that man died of a heart attack. But ever since then, you would think she had been the prime example of a loving and affectionate wife to hear her tell it. She had a fantasy about needing a big house to do lots of entertaining after I went away to college and she was alone. She had a 4 bedroom house built and never invited anybody to come over for a social visit once because she hated visitors. She hated cleaning to get ready and any clean up after. She resented offering a glass of water. But she complained about how unfriendly everybody was in the area! Her fantasy around her old age care was that I would abandon my husband, children, bills, obligations, and career to move in with her. I would sit at her knee awaiting the next instruction, like a Golden Retriever, and devote the rest of my years to her every whim and demand. I’m no dog. Not even on a good day.
If this weren't your mother, you would have no question as to what to do, and that is RUN for the hills.
Just because your mother, sister, friend, lady at the checkout has said "It's going to happen" does not make it so. It will only happen if you let it. And if you let it happen, well....the outlook is not good.
When you are dealing with a borderline/narcissist personality, every word out of their mouth is manipulation. Even nice things are to coerce you. People are simply a means to an end – even sons & daughters. The bonds they do form are transactional. As long as you're of some use, they will keep you around, which isn't exactly a prize. The test is if the person has said something nice to you knowing there is absolutely nothing to be gained from it. A transactional person will say the nice thing and in short order expect you to "pay" for it in a way that benefits them.
cold personality, and now I'm responsible for managing all her Dr appointments, and household. It's healthy to vent and keep a good sense of humor.
What is truly amazing is that apples can fall so far from the tree. My two living brothers and myself are so unlike my parents that it is hard to imagine that we are related.
I would start taking measures to alleviate dad's burden and have a plan in place for the day when they both need full time 24/7 care. All too often on this site, something happens and the family is now in a crisis with no plans.
It all hinges on how much you feel that you can do (not OUGHT to do) and still meet your obligations to yourself and your own family, job, residence, etc.
Putting my mom into a place where the doctor came there, the pharmacy came there, and she no longer had to depend on me to get out made a HUGE difference in life. I got lucky and found a nice continuum care campus that has it all - independent apartments all the way to hospice. Have those people to support her and me has been miraculous. But there is no one right way to do it.
You can come vent here any time you want.
It doesn't matter who understands what in or out of the family. You are an adult who gets to decide who you live with and where you live. You get to say "NO, I have my own problems and won't take on yours too."
Stay strong and don't let anybody run you over like a doormat.
It's amazing what people will overlook to avoid having to make changes.
I hope you can make it crystal clear to the family you are not going to be the caretaker for mom in any city of any state. They are going to have to figure it out.
You must be tearing your hair out. Who put this wretched item on the agenda (as if we can't guess), and what do you have to do to get it [bleep-bleep] off again???
Desperately need practical advise… And I got it, on this very forum… Thanks to all… Now my mother has all doctors aware of the situation and monitor her behavior, eventhough she is not taking their advise, period. I found a lady who is with her 4 times a week, 9she is still get back at me the other 3 though)… I try to tune out when I leave her to go home… And firmly tell her that I am at work, when I am, and can not listen to her laundry list of usual "wants" and "needs" at 9 am… on a daily basis. List warries mind you… as soon as I resolve one item, it gets replaced with a new one…
She is not making any progress, but at least I am, thanks to all of you out there...
I want to live on the planet where this constitutes an apology. Saying sorry is something I myself am very bad at (it's like pulling teeth - the worse the thing I have to apologise for the more painful it is) so I am always on the look-out for new and interesting ways to do it.
Elmo, I am so glad that clear line-drawing conversation is over for you - well done! Of course Jeanne is right - "she'll be back…" - but you have successfully blocked off that one route, the one that leads to her living with you. Lots of other forms of guilt and accusation, sure, but now you know where you are and you know where you want to be. Good for you, I'm so proud of you.
Yeah right!"