Im absolutely boiling with rage! Today, I had yet another row with my mother, and I cant even bring myself to ring my husbands mum.
Were luckysupposedlybecause we have two grandmothers, mine and my husbands.
Though lucky is a stretch. Neither of them acts like a grandmother. They both live just a stones throw from our sons nursery, yet they stubbornly refuse to pick him up. Id do it myself, but my shift ends at six, and by then, its too late. My husband cant always manage it eitherhe works factory shifts. So, weve had to hire a childminder, which is bleeding us dry. And all while weve got two grandmothers sitting on their hands!
My mother clocks out at four and passes the nursery every day on her way home. But her private life is her top priority nowshe divorced my stepdad and insists shes living for herself. She claims she needs to unwind after work, slapping on face masks to stay youthful. Every weekend, shes booked upcinema trips, gallery visits, nights out with friends.
She takes our son only on rare weekends, grumbling that he wrecks her flat, sprinting about and ruining her meditation sessions. Oh, but shes full of parenting advicejust dont ask her to lift a finger.
My mother-in-law? Thats another story. Shes never worked a day in her lifejust a housewife. She raised four kids, all born within three years of each other. My husbands the eldest. Youd think shed be the perfect help, but no. She says shes done her time raising children, and now shes got a house to runcooking, cleaning, laundry, feeding the men. Never mind that her youngest sons are growneighteen and twentyand perfectly capable of looking after themselves.
Once, she did pick up our boy, and youd think wed asked for the moon. She was lividapparently, she had no time for anything else, what with her men coming home tired and starving. Later, she snapped, You had that baby for yourself, not me. Deal with it. She made it clear we shouldnt expect her help again.
Hiring a childminder is crippling us. Im sick of the hypocrisycome Christmas, these grandmothers fawn over our son, bragging about whos bought him what. We dont need their presents. We need their hands.
Today, I had to beg my mother to fetch him because we couldnt scrape together the childminders fee.
We cant rely on our parentsnot financially, not practically. My mother-in-law wont chip in either, claiming all her money goes on feeding her grown sons who eat out half the time.
I dont know how well get out of this. Every penny goes on rent, food, clothes, and now the childminder. How do we make them see were drowning?
