“My mom and dad divorced when I was two. My dad physically abused my mom, so she took me and left. They tried again a few months later and the abuse escalated. He broke her glasses, pulled her hair, slapped her and pushed her down. They separated for about 13 years. Then later when I was 15-16, I got curious and wanted to meet him. We got in contact with his mother and then he came to visit. They jumped right back into a relationship after my mom had told me they wouldn’t. I got upset and he left because it was just a visit.
Fast forward 5 years again and my mom is trying a 4th time with him. They jumped back into the relationship and it’s not working. They fight almost every day. For a long time, he didn’t look for work, he sat in the bed and watched TV and movies all day everyday. He drove my mom around for work because she had to give up her car. They fight and yell all the time. I left to stay with a boyfriend for awhile, thinking they might do better without me. They didn’t. They still fought and abuse one another. My boyfriend and I broke up and I came home. Things got even worse.
All they do is fight. Dad blames her and then she blames him, getting worse and worse until we all started abusing each other. We’ve all still been trying to do anything to make it work. We tried family meetings, tried typing up how we felt about everything and what all of us need to work on as a family. Our last shot is counseling.
I’ve gotten to the point where I just want my dad to leave. He’s threatened to leave 3 times since he’s been here and my mother wants him to leave, too. Every time they fight or all of us fight, he comes in the next morning, crying or trying to make up and says he’s really trying to change. I think the situation is too volatile for my mom or I to be near him, but he says he has to stay here, refuses to go.
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