I'm tired of cooking/preparing 3 meals a day. It's just the two of us but boy oh boy can that woman eat!! She stays slimish, I get fattish. It's bad enough I do everything here much less start making her one thing and me the other. At times I feel guilty when I buy her fast food cuz of the nutritional value....not to mention I eat it too.
I've never let him know that I need his business, but he's very aware of how the freelancing game works, and he knows that a long-term, weekly gig at a decent flat rate is a rare thing to come by - but he also knows my skill set and that he's getting a bargain at the rate I'm charging him. So it's kind of a balancing act. He ticks me off now and then and I get really irritated and think about dropping him, and then realize that I really need to get my ducks in a row and more work lined up if I'm going to do that....so it remains status quo.
This is the first time that he pushed me to the point of seeking other work with my other clients to fill in his work space - if one or more of them offers enough work to keep me busy long-term - enough to replace his work completely or close to it - I'll drop him like a hot rock and not look back. He can go back to using overseas contractors, paying $3 an hour and getting results worth exactly that - $3 an hour.
This past week my mom has been calling me relentlessly saying that she just wants to go home and die, cannot walk or move her legs, and is totally helpless. I worked with the staff and her physician over the weekend, and discovered that my mother has been playing me like a fiddle. She can move her legs, and she can walk with a walker but has been acting out when I come around so that I will feel sorry for her and bring her home. I can't afford to quit my job, and I can't trust anyone else to really be there to help. I have had family members not show up for scheduled times they were going to help or bring her to dr visits, or just not show up at all when it was their turn to help out. I feel as though I have been used both ways, and I am just disgusted with the whole situation. I know my mother has bouts of dementia, is extremely overweight and just too darn lazy to help herself. Why should I have to be the one to take responsibility for everything? Is anyone else dealing with anything like this?
Why is it even remotely acceptable for someone to dump their mistake on me, when it wasn't even close to being my fault?? Not caregiving related - work related. One of my clients screwed up and blamed it on me, so now HIS client is emailing me directly and wanting to know why something wasn't done, and saying how things always go to sh*t when the boss leaves the work in someone else's hands when he's on vacation.
You have got to be kidding me.
I've been working with this client for over 2 years now, and he's pulled some shady stuff before, acting like something was my mistake when it was his, but this is the first time he actually came right out and blamed me for something when it was completely his fault. I am SO close to firing him as a client right now. The only reason I don't is that I need the income he provides - and he knows it. But there's only so much crap I will put up with - and being falsely accused of screwing up his work is definitely on my NO FREAKING WAY list.
Quick to forget, quick to judge, quick to ignore is my new word for siblings.
Later this evening I will call my parents [92 and 96] what happened.... hopefully it will sink in with them that neither I nor my S/O will be able to help them as much as we use to, they still live in their single family home.... maybe now I need to have their groceries delivered to their door whether they like paying the delivery fee or not.
I don't know what your dad will do but don't expect them to move anytime soon. I guess the garden will just have to manage without mulch
By not helping Dad with all these heavy chores we are trying to get him to realize that maybe it is time for he and Mom to move to a retirement community, there is one in their area that is like living at a 5-star resort. Dad liked the brochure and said "it would be a nice place in a couple of years".... couple of years????.... HELLO, you are 92 and 96.
Therefore, if my Dad wants mulch, he will have to do the calling and PAY for the delivery charge. I am not going to spoil him, otherwise he might take advantage.
Thank you for being there for me - each and every one of you!
I'm watching her purposely drop cheerios on the floor for the dog....
So.... just realized mom has been using the big dog food bag as the garbage disposal. When scooping dog food out ... up came parts of every meal she had yesterday. Makes me wonder if she's found another sneaky way to FEED MY DOGS!! Seriously...
"What's this?"
"It's oatmeal - your favourite!"
A skeptical look. "Really?"
I bite down my frustration and give her a big smile. "Yeah!"
She shakes her head in disbelief and pokes at it with her spoon. In the flattest, most unimpressed tone: "Oh. Okay."
She ate the whole bowl without complaint, so I guess it couldn't have been that bad. Ouch, though.