NLW I can relate to that too. My H was the biggest adolescent in my house from about 5 years before my kids became adolescents. They watched inappropriate movies and snickered together and my H would get them to repeat stuff after him like little puppets...and somehow they grew beyond him. Before H sank into his depression and started living in bed, his efforts to be cool and hip with them were receiving rolled eye treatment. He really wanted to be their ringleader and I believe he was disappointed to find them growing up into different people and not playing along anymore. Even this past year he was trying to get S12 to repeat after him something, and he'd get madder and madder until S would repeat in his best preteen this-is-so-lame mumble.
I think in my H's case he just had very limited options for how to connect with someone separate from himself. He knew how to command, he knew how to ring-lead, but when they went a different way or had different interests or ideas he was kind of lost.
Adinva 51, S20, S18 M24 total 6/15/11-12/1/12 From IDLY to H moving out 9/15/15-3/7/17 From negotiating SA to final D at age 50 5/8/17-now: New relationship with an old friend __ Happiness is a warm puppy.
