My Dad Screwed My Mom Over
Well, I found out about this last weekend but I've been so freaking busy at work this week that I didn't really have time to rant about it until now. In any event, my father pulled the most messed-up move I've ever heard of on my mother, screwing her (and my sister, not that I care about her particularly) over. I posted it on the site that my buddies and I rant on, so Stone might have already seen this, but I figured I'd get TNL's opinions.
So back around November, my father received a call about my grandmother: she'd had some sort of accident, was in the hospital, was ill, whatnot. My grandfather passed away several years ago from lung cancer and my grandmother has been fine, but she's getting up there in years so the news naturally worried my father. He took a few weeks off of work and went to make sure everything was okay, prepared for the worst.
He came back home in January, but he needed to go back because Grandma needed constant supervision since the doctors said she had a very minor ALS affliction. My aunt and uncle-in-law are very busy people and would not be able to watch over her, but the doctors were confident that she would be okay in a few months. So my dad was going to take leave from work and spend a few months there taking care of my grandmother. She had lost her memory and only knew my father and aunt any more.
My dad needed some money since he wouldn't be working. My mother needed money since she has household repairs and whatnot. Since interest rates are still pretty low, she consulted with my dad about refinancing the house. She didn't want to do it if he wasn't coming back, but he promised her that he would come back and that he'd help her make double payments on the refi. So, my mom refi'd the house for 50k and my dad went to Utah.
About a month ago, I received an odd call - it was my aunt and uncle-in-law who were at Disneyland and decided to give me a ring. Now, I love my family, and it's great to spend time with them when I visit, but never once has my aunt found occasion to call me. After very quickly finding out how I was, she proceeded to tell me about how healthy my father was looking and how they loved having him home; as though she were pitching a TV show to me or something. My aunt has always been nagging my dad to ditch my mom and move back home, so that's the usual rap from her. However, I had no idea why she needed to call me to tell me that.
So last weekend, my dad called my mom to inform her that he was staying in Utah. He's going to buy my uncle-in-law's business - something having to do with vending machines - and live there. Remember the part about my mom refinancing the house? Well, now she's stuck with it and solely with my pain-in-the-ass sister.
I've never been as close as I should have been to my father, but in the past few years I'd been spending time with him and whatnot. I've always respected his service in Vietnam and his handling of my mom, but this is just terrible. I don't know how he could do something like this. I'm pretty sure that my aunt nagged him until he gave in, but that's not cool. Even if he has no feelings for my mother, he ought to at least think of my sister, who needs him. I may be independent but my sister will be dependent on someone her whole life.
In addition, my aunt is the breadwinner. My uncle's business is just filler, and I don't see how he could make any money stocking or selling vending machines or whatever it is he does. My dad seems convinced he'll be making 200k a year, it sounds like a pipe dream to me.
I gave my dad a ring last weekend at my aunt's home. My grandmother answered the phone. When I asked to speak to my dad she said, "He's not here. Is this Michael?" She recognized me immediately and asked how things were doing in California and how Sapphire was doing. In addition, she was home alone - my father, aunt and uncle had left her home by herself. Anyway, my grandma took my number and said she'd have my dad call me. He never did.
So, tomorrow, I've got to call again and hope I get ahold of him. I have no idea what to say to him. It's pretty obvious that the whole situation with my grandmother was overblown to get my dad out there and then wrangle him to stay. It's not cool at all. Thoughts?
