Thanks for the early morning chuckle, T and Kevin.
I needed it, after backsliding with my XW this morn. First, I called XW to note that S6 had a stye that I began to home treat yesterday. She called back 30 min later to say that she had to keep him home, and why didn't I take him to the MD yesterday. I noted that she hasn't given me a copy of her insurance card, that I have 2 MDs seeking payment for services she sought over the summer that she said she had coverage for and did not, and that I started addressing his eye with home treatment. (First error - defending myself). She began to rip me angrily for not being responsible, for not thinking about her... and I responded "Are you calling to b!tch at me or to communicate s/t to me?" (Second error - insult back). She went into a flurry here, and I did a feeble job validating her feelings, but it seemed too late, like her anger had started to swing to the out-of-control mode already.
Lots of "you always, you never" and I just told her "I'm tired of your victim stuff. You're not a victim, you're a mother who has a child who will get sick once in a while, and you'll need to be there for him on Tue and Thur. Just as I will on Mon and Wed. This is our schedule." I won't bore you with the rest, just that it ended with me hanging up on her, as she shouted "Stop insulting me!" over and over. It seems like our communication problems continue, with her hearing insults, and me hearing a "victim against Gabe" mode about her. There were no major insults or swings, ample cussing on her part, her pot shot at me regarding my not being able to afford alimony (what??) so that she could stay home with him, my return at her insinuating that she could take a break from her play to be with our sick son.
Back to disrespect on both sides. I could have avoided a lot of this by taking the high road.
Augghhhhhh! I need to go dark (or at least gray for a bit).
