My Mom and Dad have just moved in with my husband, 15 yr old daughter and I. My Mother has been saying mean and hurtful comments, out of earshot of my Father 'to me and to my daughter', when there isn't really a witness, and then she will tell my Dad a completely different story...Of course, it's all in 'her' favor, but I never dreamed any of this would be happening to begin with...today, she confronted me in the front of my Dad and told me that my nerves must be bothering me, and that my medicine is giving me mood swings......OMG....I sat there for a minute, and just prayed for God to give me the right words to say to her, because one of the last things she told me in the front of my daughter (first time I've had a witness) was, 'I needed to shut my mouth and keep it off of my alcoholic sister'.........in which 'she' was the one talking about 'my sister', not me.....so, in the front of my Father, I say to her, 'just because I'm speaking up for myself, to your disrespectful comments to me, doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with my nerves!'.........my Dad acted SHOCKED.....when I retold what had gotten said, she completely denied it............says she doesn't remember ever saying 'those' words................now, my question is............can she be saying these things to me, and really not remember them???? Because she seems pretty darn alert to me.....the trouble is, she's always been the boss of the house, and called the shots, and I know that 'this' isn't what she wanted....she told me to my face today, that if she would've known that me and my alcoholic sister didn't get along, and she wasn't allowed at our house, that she probably wouldn't have come to live with us????.....I told her, that it's not that we don't get along, she just causes drama, and upset, and has lots of low life friends, and spreads false rumors, and causes family fights, and I don't want any of that, nor does my husband in 'our home'.......
I took the advice of JessieBelle and gave my Mom something to do yesterday....my husband loves these noodles and chicken that she makes, (even though I was the one running up and down the steps retrieving the ingreidients, and chopping the stuff, draining water, etc)....she felt like she was 'in charge' of something...it took all day, but it tasted wonderful, and she was proud of it.....(she gets really breathless trying to do anything anymore)...
So, all in all, it was a fairly good day, but I'm keeping a slight headache all day long anymore it seems like, and I don't get to sit down until around 8:00 pm, and by then, I'm just ready to pass out!!!
on your child. After my grandma threw food on the floor and demanded I clean it up, she thanked my husband for putting up with me. He quickly told her that I am not a slave girl and that she moved into our home because I loved her. She is moving as soon as I can get her back into a home. My mother whom is her POA has written her off as she was beaten and verbally abused by this woman all of her life. My children come first I sought help when I was depressed and educated myself on the issue, I refuse to intentionally subject my children to this abuse. Good luck
Frazzled28 .... I feel your pain. This caregiver role is a tough one. I too hope this is just an adjustment period and these issues will go away. If you take anything away from this forum ... please remember to make time for yourself and your own family. I hope things work out for you. However, having an alternate living arrangments is a very good suggestion.
Good Luck!
As peeweedeb says, nip this in the bud! Your parents could be around another 15 or more years. Can you live like this that long? Get this living arrangement on a solid foundation now. It is unacceptable for your mother to talk to you hurtfully. (Dementia would alter things, but I don't know that is a factor here.)
Could the five of you have a few family counselling sessions? There is a lot at stake here, and worth considerable effort to get things on a good footing.
And do not rule out the possibility of alternate living arrangements. If you decide that this isn't working and your parents must find another place to live, what are they going to do? Find a homeless shelter? It may be true that they are now dead set against assisted living, but if you become dead set against having them with you, something has to give. Just know that this is a possibility, so you don't feel completely trapped.
Jessie may be right and this is just a rough adjustment period. But reading other threads here would indicate that rough adjustment periods can go on and on for years. Nip it in the bud! Get it to work, or get it to end.
Family members often talk about each other and say things that they wouldn't say to their worst enemies. I don't know why this happens, but it is very common. I hope that you can work things out. I hope you'll let us know how the next few days go. Some days are worse than others. It sounds like you had one of the more emotionally bad days.
I've always been the one that's been the closest with my parents. I love the both of them soooo much, but I've never seen this behavior out of my Mother..
I probably need to read about the different stages of dementia?? I'm going to read about the thread that Madge1 mentioned....
Thanks so much, and any and all of your input is soooo greatly appreciated.....they cannot move back into their home, it was sold before Christmas, and they were both dead set against assisted living....
Your mother is used to being boss of the house. She isn't boss now. This has got to be a terribly difficult adjustment.
You are used to setting the rules for who is welcome in your home. Did Sister used to visit your parents at their home? If so, it would a surprise and disappointment to learn that she is no longer welcome to visit them where they live. (If she never visited anyway, this is not worth arguing over.) Can you offer to drive them to Sister's when they are invited?
And now poor Dad is caught in the middle. He gets to be the referee of "she said" "no she said" "did not!" "did too!" Lordy, not a peaceful way to spend your final years.
Wouldn't they really be better off in Assisted Living, where at least the rules they have to follow are not their children's rules, and they can invite anyone they want to visit them?
This tension is not good for any of the five of you. (As if you needed an outsider to point that out!)