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No Christmas anymore for Selfish Adult Sons ?

(33 Posts)
helenrowena Sun 29-Dec-19 12:12:44

Two sons one is 27 the other 24 both single , both come every Christmas for three days and never come at any other time of year, Son1 lives 120 miles away and Son2 lives 50 miles away.

I dread Christmas because Son1 takes over and has always been a bit of a bully and quite nasty at times to all of us,

Thing is I am carer to bedridden daughter who has m.e and another daughter who is autistic /learning disabled and me and husband are exhausted looking after them 24/7.

This year the sons excelled themselves, As usual they took a sofa each and then spent the evening with PS2 games plugged into the only TV in our living room, Myself and husband retired to our bedroom where we have a computer and watched BBC on iplayer there, We had our coffee and biscuits there.
The sons never offer to help with dishes or clearing up and leave cups and glasses everywhere, eat in front of the tv and generally make a mess, They act like they are still teenagers in fact.
So I decided I had to say something to son1 as he is the worst offender. I said that I was going to not do Christmas anymore and that I was going to volunteer for a charity next year, Well, he immediately took offence and moaned about how he had spent £56 on a train ticket to come here and if I dont want to see him just say so. I said to him why not come up to visit in the summer or any other time except Christmas? So he calmed down a bit. I know he has friends he can stay with , but son2 has none and gets lonely,
I am totally exhausted, I am 61 and have a sliding hiatus hernia and was so stressed that after putting out the meal on Christmas Day I took a few bites and then had a hernia attack and had to slip outside to recover, Nobody noticed except husband who came out to comfort me as it is a horrible painful experience, My husband is 68 and not in the best of health either, He had a brain injury in 2010 (encephalitis) and gets tired very easily and memory is affected, So we both care for daughter who has severe m.e. plus another daughter who has learning difficulty/autism.

I feel guilty and bad about saying I have had enough of Christmas to the two sons but I dont know what to do,
Am I being unreasonable to expect them to help ? They seem totally unaware of the stress we are under,

TerriT Sun 29-Dec-19 20:35:17

Sadly due to your amazingly good and kind nature you have created your own two monsters in my opinion. You treating them like you are there to serve and cater to them has instilled in them the belief that you have no needs of your own. It does not give anyone the right to exploit good natured people but sadly in my experience mothers who bring up their children without telling said children that you are not there solely for there requirements end up with adult children who go on treating their mothers as yours are treating you. I know your good nature will prevent you from blowing a gasket as I would but try and think of yourself and your health and needs. They want as my mother would say ‘a hard clip round the ear’. And they do!

grandtanteJE65 Mon 30-Dec-19 11:14:56

The only unreasonable aspect is that you haven't said this to your sons years ago!

Dear lady, you have enough on your plate!

Stick to your guns about next Christmas. If your sons attempt to change your mind, tell them that they can come if the buy and cook all the food, wash up, wash their used bed-linen before they leave and leave their various electronic devices at home, as you want to talk to them while they are visiting,

EMMF1948 Wed 01-Jan-20 12:16:31

and also ask if they could not use the main TV for their games all the time.

No, don't ask, them, tell them that you will watch your TV in your living room, if they don't like it tough, next year they can make alternative arrangements.

Alexa Wed 01-Jan-20 13:48:52

I guess your sons are well meaning but ignorant.

Tell them, especially son number one you love him and exactly what help you require . Do you require time off from daughter care for a summer holiday?

Next Xmas you can still welcome sons , tell the adolescent men you love them, and provide Indian takeaways or frozen fish and chips.

bingo12 Wed 01-Jan-20 13:58:15

Some people just behave very badly at Christmas - they seem to find it an excuse to do so.

Grammaretto Wed 01-Jan-20 18:17:59

I just heard today that my DMiL used to hate when our DC never helped with clearing tables or washing up when she hosted Christmas day, years ago!
I was thanking her for all those years when she slaved to give us a wonderful time. I had no idea that she resented it.
Anyway it was my turn today and still the DC don't leap into action.

ClareAB Sat 25-Jan-20 02:02:43

Having bought up 3 males, my one bit of advice to you is to be very clear about what you want them to do. Some (most) men seem to be unable to take the initiative, read the signs or empathise until the facts are pointed out to them.
Give it to them straight and kindly. It's not unreasonable to point out that you and your husband are not in the best of health, are getting on a bit, and are exhausted from caring for your daughter, and what would be great is if they took over Christmas, the shopping, cooking and clearing up over the 3 days they come, to give you and their dear old Pa a break... I'd be tempted to point out wryly that the time comes when the child has to look after the parent that looked after them. That time is now.
They may just not be aware of how selfish they are being, and do what all offspring do when they go home, revert back to children.
Good luck!