I picked up s13 today who was taking a shower when I arrived. So I sat and chatted with d18 who is getting ready to head to her out-of-state college at the end of August.
W came and sat down next to me on her couch. We had some light convo, but then obsessed W came out. She was obsessed about 2 things:
- Money. She still has not received the state tax refund which I gave her in exchange for my filing as "head of household." She needed reimbursement for signing s13 up for football (which I gave her, and
- Her "change of life", is this called menopause? She gave me gory details of change of moods, body hurting more (I gave her a little back massage), hair growing everywhere, her putting on 10 pounds, etc. When I mentioned I thought this was happening 9 months ago when she had an intense hot flash, she agreed and told more stories of her "hot flashes";
W continues to be fighting constantly with s13 over cleaning. Before she would let him leave with me she made him take 3 bags of garbage out. I supported W when he spoke disrespectfully to her. Finally, he got sick of W, took the final bag of garbage out, and went and sat in my car w/o telling anyone.
So here is where I need help - W continues to ask me to take over her 3 br condo, which is slightly more expensive than my current 2 br apartment. Should I suggest that we live together in separate bedrooms in W's condo?
W has no source of income, and she thinks she can get a much less expensive place to live on her own. Money is always tight for both of us, and so living together is a sensible idea for us both to save money. S13 would have the benefit of both parents being there for him, and I can keep him on task better than W on doing chores. I would ask that she pay a few hundred dollars a month towards rent, which should be less expensive than any place she could find.
