Am I being unreasonable?

Husband and I decided on divorce a couple of months ago and have been separated since. We are working through our finances before we go through the divorce process. We have 2 children together, 14 and 11, and my 21 year old stepson (my husband’s son) all live with me at our house. My husband and I have been amicable throughout this process, and we discussed a lot of things through. He started a new job around the time we separated, he can work from home Monday and Friday, but the rest of the days he has to be at work by 8am. I am a nurse who works 12 hour night shifts (7pm-7am), every Friday and Saturday, and my third shift is a random day during the week. My issue was that my stepson was working overnight as well Sunday-Thursday, so my husband and I agreed that on that one night a week I worked and my stepson was at work that he would spend the night to get our kids up and ready for school since I get home after they need to be in school. Last week, my stepson got fired from his job and is starting a new job this week and doesn’t know his schedule yet, but it wouldn’t be overnight. So I talk to my husband about this, and he says it will be up to my stepson to get our kids up and ready for school since it takes him much longer to get to work when he stays the night. This makes me aggravated because how is this an issue now? If my stepson hadn’t gotten fired and was still working overnight, what would my husband do? It’s like he’s found another situation to work in his favor. To be clear, my stepson helps me out a lot, but he can barely get himself up at 6am, so I don’t know how dependable he will be to get his brother and sister up to get ready for school. I explained to my husband that I’m not against seeing how my stepson does, but if it becomes an issue, he is going to have to speak to his boss about possibly being late to work ONE DAY A WEEK, and when I say late, I mean by 30 minutes..not hours. I’m trying to explain this to him because my stepson being fired was clearly not planned and we had already discussed that he would need to be here on the one night a week I worked..and he’s acting like I’m asking him to be late to his job 5 days a week. Am I overreacting?

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Nope. You didn’t conceive those children with your stepson. They are your husband’s children. Your husband is their father. So your husband, needs to get their father. Not the kid he conceived with another woman. Him. Period.

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You are not overreacting or being unreasonable. The children (even adult ones) should not be parenting the other children. I'd ask your husband if he is willing to compensate his son for providing these drop off services. Does your stepson actually want to do this?

More importantly, does your husband not intend to have any form of custody when this divorce is final? These are things he has to accept as part of his life as a divorced parent. If he's unwilling to contribute, you may need to find someone to provide the services and demand child support.

Have you met with a lawyer yet and established a parenting plan or custody agreement for this separation?

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that’s exactly what I said to him..that’s he’s the parent, not my stepson. We haven’t done anything related to the divorce yet. I just want to get it over with so I can have all of this stuff documented because it’s as if it’s not enough I’m literally caring for our 2 children and his son, but he won’t even try to hear me out when I tell him how unreasonable he’s being.

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I recommend you schedule a consultation with a divorce attorney. They're usually free. It will give you some understanding of your options even if you're not ready to file.

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A legal separation even if you don't file for divorce could define custody and child support. If the kids start being late while in "your" care, it could become a custody issue so you should protect yourself and your kids.

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thank you, that helps a lot!

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I've finally done it

I have finally done it. I have finally become the trope, the stereotype.

I have become bitter, resentful, and very overwhelmed and overloaded. I am very unhappy and hit burnout. And I snapped at my husband last night. I work full-time, and work has been very busy so im working late a lot. Im also in grad school. I also have a toddler that has become VERY clingy with me. My husband works shorter days but commutes, so he usually gets home after me by an hour or more. When he gets home, he usually heads to the restroom for at least 30 mins when he gets home. And now my toddler doesnt want anything to do with him. So im doing all the toddler duties until bed. I dont get 5 mins to myself. Not for almost 2 years. I finally hit my wall. I have also, somehow, become my MILs medical ride service and she somehow has an appt every week, it seems?! Shes not sick!! My husband was complaining that he needs to change routine to fit in a workout sometimes, and I lost it. I have been BEGGING for 5 mins to myself for months. I have been telling him how im not good, im going to burn out for months. And between his attitude and him complaining (which really got me b/c he blames me for not being able to work out?! Saying I need help when he gets home so he just cant workout now) I just lost it completely. I told him how unfair my life has become and I have the entire mental and emotional load and it is just not fair. He got mad at me and said "hes trying" when hes literally not trying at all. What do I do?? No one is taking the load from me! And im done and dont know what to do now.
I do not like this version of me.

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4

20

AITA?

This isn't a major issue, just wondering if I'm being a bit of an asshole.

• I do shift work, 5 out of 7 days, full-time.
• My partner works from home (mostly, sometimes he goes into the office) M-F, full-time.

Anyway, whenever I have a day off during the week he gets in his feelings when I make myself food (breakfast and lunch) but not him. His reason is he's working, I'm not - Which is fair but I've asked him how many times on a weekend has he gotten up, on his day off and made me breakfast and a lunch to take with me to work? You guessed it, 0.

So basically, just because I'm at home I don't think the responsibility to feed him should automatically fall on me when he manages to feed himself just fine while I'm at work.

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1

25

Big vent!

Hi mums.
I'm a first time mum in my 40s to twin boys.They are almost 5 months old and the biggest miracle in my life!
I am struggling!!!
I'm pretty sure I have ppa as my pregnancy was a very high risk and all I remember was crying from anxiety of all the ifs!Thankfully even born at 35 weeks and skinny,didn't need iu time.
My husband is not helping much because he's always too busy with work.He will "look" after them usually between 8pm-12am so I can have a chance to sleep.
He expects me to just sleep when I touch the pillow,even though I hear tje babies crying and him don't really bother because most of the times he'll be on his laptop working.
When I tell him I can't relax to fall asleep because I feel you r neglecting the babies,he says I'm the problem becauae I'm always there with them and don't give them alone time!!
I am angry!!I am furious!!
I can't keep.up.with housework becauae someone alwaya neess me and most of the times they nap I either cook and clean tje kitchen,do laundry or try and take a quick nap.
He doesn't help.around the house,becauae..guess what?always super busy.
I asked him nicely we could clean the house together every Saturday morning so it's easier and quicker for both of us and he said no,because he has a lot of work but probably wants to sleep until 12 or 2.
2 days ago a button of his coat ripped and I told him I'll sew it these days.
Earlier this morning while running late for his work,as always,he weara the coat and told him didn't get the chance to fix the button and sarcastically said..of.course u didn't!!!
I spent all night awake because one of the babies had congested nose and we've been trying to reduce one fees at night.
I wanted to punch him!!He left and I started crying...I cry so much,even at 5 months pp...
I can't go on like this anymoreeeee...
The crying in my ears is constant..my head is always numb..I've gained so much weight and can't find the strength to get back on track..
Even if I try to.find a therapist to just talk,is it gonna help?I really don't know😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

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8

Avoidant husband

I love my husband and he is a good man. We have some issues in our relationship however, as he has an avoidant attachment style (finds romance/intimacy/being emotional difficult). This comes from him having to be independent from a young age and having quite an abusive mother.
The issues in our relationship are mainly around a lack of sex and intimacy. I think the problem is that to feel turned on, I need to feel connected and wanted. My husband (being avoidant) will usually make jokes about being horny whereas I would want to have someone make me feel beautiful/sexy to get in the mood.
It sounds terrible but I've sometimes had dreams about exes that would make me feel this way, and the romance we had (eye contact, intensity, deep words). It makes me feel really guilty but I feel like i'm starved of that. My husband would like a lot more sex but I can't always force myself if I'm not feeling it.
We've spoken a bit about therapy but I know its often really expensive so we probably wouldn't be able to afford it. Do you have any suggestions please? I know that neither of us are wrong in what we want, just different but I'm scared about whether we can fix it or if we're doomed?

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12

If your partners parent passes away

And you and that parent didn't get along are you still go to the funeral?

Not my situation!

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14

Is this clever or cruel?

My husband and i were talking and with social media and the internet in general being a terrifying dumpster fire, we are trying to figure out the best way to keep our son safe while still teaching him how to safely be online and moderation.

We landed on the idea of giving him the 90's kid treatment. A computer in the living room for us to keep an eye on what hes doing online, and once we feel hes mature enough to hang with friends without adult supervision he gets a flip phone. When we feel he is responsible enough and he earns and saves up the money for the physical phone, case, and screen cover, then we will be happy to take him to get a smart phone.

I thought this was air tight, but now my brother says its cruel to give a kid a flip phone, and besides he can just use his friends phones at school.

My husband and i remember a time before the internet, and we remember having complete access to something no one understood yet. We saw unspeakable things and are always battling with the urge to put the phone and social media down. I dont want that for my son, especially with his brain so vulnerable still.

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21

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