AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I've reached the breaking point.

I find that the more I try to work though this situation I have gotten myself into, the more impossible it becomes to work. Lets start with about 4 months ago (or so)

I was consoling Karen about a movie we had just seen. She was crying inconsolably about the movie Juno, a comedy, of all things. It was about a girl who had a baby at a young age and the sight of a baby welled tears in her eyes. Well, the reason, she said later, was that she wanted another baby and she knew she couldn't have one. I was not ready for one, to be honest the reasons were beyond anything like finances. My first child's birth took a lot away from me that I guess even now, staring my future down again, I am still bitter about what was stolen, not only by having a kid, but by others who associated with my first child.

My mother in law is a big source of the bitterness. She came into my house in Missoula a day before my wife and future daughter was to be induced, rearranged my furniture, threw away my things, worked herself to death in my home, and expected me to thank her for the invasion of privacy and insulation to my character. I recall resting in the back room of our small trailer that we were renting from my father in law, (who I have nothing but respect for) and having her come to me and literally call my faith and salvation into account. "Ya'kno, if I were you I would go take a walk and pray. Ya'kno, get right with God right now. This would be a good time." I was reading Snow Crash instead, and didn't move an inch. Really, she was using an assumption that I was a dirty rotten sinner and therefore needed to pray for repentance because of the infidelity that was going to be born in 15 hours. I had long made peace with that to my creator long ago, and now all I had to to was deal with the consequences. All she really wanted to do was get me out of the house so she could have Karen all to herself. Even earlier she had asked what role she was going to have with the birth of Lilas, and we told her that she could be there for moral support then a partner for the birth. That was MY job. anyway, comes time to have Lilas, and she tells me that I am tired and should go get a sandwich from the vending machine. Once again she told me what to feel and tried to get Karen by herself. This time I was mad, and had to leave to not stress out my half conscious wife who was giving birth. I left to save peace and as much as I hate to admit it, I was hungry. However, when I left, Karen's mom was such a stress that we almost had a C-section. When I came back we resumed giving birth, but Karen had contracted down to 4cm from almost 9. I always phrase it nicer when i talk to Karen about it, but the Human Body tries to abort children under stress. Stress stops labor, stress causes miscarriages, stress Kills babies that the body deems too stressful to live. When we called Karen's mother during different false labors, It put so much strain on her that she would stop contractions. Anyway, as we resumed, I had Karen's hand and her leg with my arm. she pushed and bled and I held her leg back to help get my daughter to the world. She was born with a lump on the side of her head from the 9 to four contraction but she was a pretty baby when she was born despite it. Upon going to but supplies for the hospital stay, Karen's Mom received a phone call from her sister and re accounted the events. "Yea... Karen was having a hard time... Yea it was just like when I had Jeremy... Yea, she had it rough but me and her mother in law pulled together our motherliness, and she has a beautiful baby girl." Let's be clear Leslie: Karen was having a hard time because of YOU, your story about your first child changed at least six times until it was exactly like YOURS, and you were no where near the blood and the piss and the placenta and the shit, YOU were being corrected by health officials when you were giving bad advice. She eventually did get her wish of getting rid of me, you see. She doesn't tell the story with me in it and writes me out of history. So you can imagine my bitterness to this day. She did get her wish of getting rid of me and having Karen all to herself.

So I was not ready to have another kid. She cried every night after that. I gave in our anniversary under a few conditions.

1. She said that she would push though being sick.

2. She would avoid her previous pregnancy diet of Dr. Pepper and Fudge Shoppe sticks.

3. She would be better with the money.

After all of this and the fact that it would be a good time for Lilas to have a little sibling, I gave in and for our anniversary, we removed her IUD. We Immediately got pregnant. We also immediately went broke during the final days of the semester. What I figured happened was Karen panicked when we had under 1000 dollars in our checking account and counter intuitively began to "sand bag" for the coming depression, spending the last we had on things we apparently "Needed" and for the life of me I don't know where it went. Good bye 3! She eats relatively better than she did when she was pregnant the first time, so she keeps number two. Number one is the one that Is the most destructive. She is too sick to work. Even to clean the house. I have had to be the housewife and the working man while Karen acts as the couch. Yea, she's sick. I wouldn't make her clean a toilet in her condition,but she promised she would work through being sick. She has even moved her computer to the couch for ease of access and camps out on the same stretch of furniture complaining about Lilas jumping on her. I'm starting my old job at Outback again because they would give me more hours and they give me free food as well as tips every week. It's not a bad gig, but it is fast and hard and I ache like a bastard. In the end she has defaulted on 3 and that keeps her in check for 2 on the basis that we have no money, and last but not least, she lied to my face about 1.

So, now I feel betrayed. I feel used. I feel like taking all our stuff, torching it, and living like a freaking hermit for the rest of my life. I think I need another job on top of the Outback gig, the problem is Karen can't watch Lilas in her condition so the other job would be going to daycare while Karen continues to act like a Barcalounger. It's not her fault, I know. That drive to make another baby was so strong I guess, she felt a necessity to have another child, she felt it necessary to lie to me and give me false hope that I would not have to carry the whole house. This is the punishment for being an upstanding male who accepts his responsibility with the consequences of his actions. It's not worth it. To the dead beat Dads out there, Hazaa and Kudos to you for being able to escape the responsibity of children. I envy your lack of conscience and honor and long to be one who could walk away when things get hard.

....I feel lied to....

(comments posted later)

From Jason

Well, I have to say that the way you just spilled your guts to everyone is impressive. You've never been one to hide your feelings though, so I'm not overly suprized. It really sounds as though you've gone 100 mph into a brick wall of shit for lack of a better term and have no time to turn for anything other then advise.

First of all, life is far too short for you to invest time into people that go out of their way to make you feel like a horrible person. It's also too short for you to be dwelling on the perameters of maintaining relationships with those that cannot accept you for who you are as a person. Your faith, in the 15 years that I've been a friend to you, hasn't waivered or been questioned any more then the next believer. We all make bad decisions and we all do things to a less of an extent then we would have originally prefered. Wether it be your education, career or relationships with your family and friends, they can all be improved upon just like anyone else. I only bring that up because I don't understand the reasoning for Karen's mother to be acting this way towards you. There's a very good possibility that there isn't any reason at all other then the fact that she's an overbearing, control obsessed psyco. Much of which is not seemingly in her control to remedy untill she can mentally and emotionally accept the fact that her daughter is a grown woman and her role as a mother as changed.

Without meeting Karen's mother, I can't really give you any other outlook on the situation with her. I'd venture to guess that you're better off in just understanding that she has issues. It's not you, it's not your fault and you need to just blow her off as much as you can without completely offending Karen. Talk to Karen about it though. Not everyone gets along with their in-laws and at least you can feel comfortable in knowing that you tried, but your friendship wasn't accepted.

As for working too much and doing all of the housework. Karen needs to realize that even though she's carrying your child, she still has an obligation to maintain. I supose you'll have to try and rationally talk things out without directly putting blame on her. Even if accusations are fully deserved, their never looked kindly upon when their being delivered to you by someone you care for. Many feelings arise, such as being embarassed which is soon to be masked by anger closely followed by defense mechinisms. More or less, you'll need to tell her that you've run as hard as you can with the rope in hand and you're about to hang yourself. What I mean by that is you were basicly handed the responsibility of, well, pretty much everything and you ran with it. Right now you're at a "breaking point." So tell her about it. Ask her if there's any way she can muster up the strength and determination to help pull you two through this. Start small though. If there's any way to guarantee failure in a life changing goal, it's by setting yourself up for failure with too large of a goal to achieve. See if there's a few light chores around the house she can do. Get the computer away from the couch. I've been there, and it's just plain being lazy. Talk to her about a part time job. Many women are sick through the duration of a pregnancy and she still has obligations to maintain. 20 hours a week with a creative aproach to child care during those hours could really help you out a lot.

I have to get ready for work now man, but send me a mssg or call if any of this is making sense and you'd like to talk it through a little more or just vent. We're here for ya bud, hang in there.

My reply:

In defense for Leslie, my mother in law, at that point in her life she was busy with her own issues with her Marriage and finances. The way she copes with this is to ratchet down the other things in her life that she can control. Karen acted as sole babysitter for her brother for all of high school and as a consequence, Karen missed out on a lot of things that you and I got to do, like stay up all night with friends, fight with people and not feel guilty about it the next day, and just be a normal teenage person. She was basically a co-mother with her mother and that inclined this whole controlling psycho thing. I was something that Leslie couldn't control, and barely knew in general, so as a consequence, she tried to control me and failed. Since then Karen has had conversations with her mom about her role as mom. We've worked out that although Karen is Leslie's daughter, she is not her child anymore. Things are better. It's the day that my kid was born that I want to get back, or at least feel better about. We patched up the relationship with Leslie, but the scar is still there for past transgressions. I'm working though that though.

In defense for Karen, she really is sick. It is miserable and painful, and we have a prescription for nausea that we can't afford until next week. I try to get her to do things around the house and she runs to the bathroom instead. She's not having a picnic. The metaphor of furniture is to describe the ability she has right now to help me while I clean and work, not for her laziness or her lack of commitment. To put it another way, if she went full out cleaning, I would have to clean the house and the vomit from the floor. She understands she has an obligation to uphold, she just cant do it. The "Breaking point" was an internal one for me, rather than one in our relationship. I'm falling apart an there's no one that can help me at this point. I found myself kicking a box across the room over not finding a dust pan, screaming at my two year old for being two, and having nothing to do but write about it. Nothing much really has changed about how I deal with things I guess, Instead of bringing a notebook with me everywhere, I use my computer.

anyway, I am shocked by your insight man. You've done a lot of growing since I last saw you. I also need to meet this chick of yours. Kristi said she liked her, so that gives me... well nothing. I appreciate your concern and thanks for the post.
one more thing: CALL YOUR DAD! He came into home depot a few months and we were in a consensus that you were a bum that doesn't answer your phone :^}, take it easy man.