Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I am done.

So, it's over. I had to cut someone out of my life, and it is totally done. I thought this person was a friend of mine, but in reality I was being used. Terribly. I watched this person's child CONSTANTLY. I took this kid for 4 days when I was 36 wks pregnant so that she and her husband could go to Texas for his grandfather's funeral. These people ate at my house literally 4 - 6 days a week during my pregnancy w/little dude. So, instead of feeding 1 adult and 2 kids, I was feeding 3 adults and 3 kids. They contributed very, very little to this. I am sure most people wonder why I would let myself get used like that. Well, I fully expected everything to come back around to me after the little dude was born, which is when I really needed the help. But, the horrible irony is, that is when they started to let me down. Every time I asked them to babysit for me, I was told no, always for a stupid reason. And I am not one who goes out all the time. It wasn't like I was asking for a sitter every weekend or anything close to that. But when my bother-in-law (whom I only get to see 2 - 3 times a year, and we are pretty close) came into town with me from Asheville, and I wanted to go out, I was told no. Then, when my best friend came into town (and I hadn't seen her in 18 months), and I wanted to go out, I was told no. These requests were about a month apart. That is how rarely I ask for a sitter. Now, I did not help them out just to build up "credits" so to speak for when I needed them. But I think it is really horrible to let someone provide you with free childcare for 8 months, then drop them like they are on fire as soon as they need you. On top of that, their child got black ink spots on my antique dining room table, broke the back off the matching dining room chair, and took a red sharpie to my antique dresser. They have been promising me for a year to pay to have this stuff fixed, but every time I ask about it, I am told "when he gets his 1000 extra a month in deployment pay" (he has been home since March, and this pay is for the last 3 months of deployment), then "when we get our travel voucher", then "when we get our economic stimulus payment", then "when we are finished paying for the NODS", and now it's "when we get our taxes back". In other words, never. And lately, she wouldn't answer the phone when I called, she wouldn't call me back, and she would only text me if she absolutely had to deign to communicate with me. So, about a year ago we had decided to share a phone plan with Alltel (it was cheaper to split it). I got myself a new phone on Thursday, took everything off the old phone, and turned the old one off on Friday (physically turned it off, the plan was in her name, so I couldn't disconnect it.) So, she got angry that I wasn't answering her texts or emails, and she had the nerve to text my mother 3 times. Now, she has my mom's number for emergencies, like the kids and I have been in a car wreck emergencies. Not to bother my mom over stuff between us. And the last 2 messages she sent were rude. So I am done. She used me and dropped me when she no longer needed me, and has acted like an immature brat about everything. The worst part is, we had removed her from our lives back in summer 06. She came back into our lives a year later, and the hubby and a good friend of mine warned me not to let her back into my life. And I insisted that she had changed. I told my husband to let me make my own decisions and character judgements. And he was totally right. And I got really burned. So, I feel like I wasted a year being good to someone who really never liked me, only liked what I could do for her. And that hurts. But being rid of her feels like 100lbs of dead weight off my back.

3 comments:

Mer said...

I don't know how anyone could know you and think that you were just doing things to earn credit or anything like that.

I had to drop a few people this summer when I realized just how much they were leeching off of me -- and it was hard but such a relief when it was over. I think the hardest part of the whole thing has been actually forgiving myself for letting them take advantage of me.

Good for you. You deserve better *friends* than that -- and you definitely deserve people who reciprocate and support you.

Mer said...

OH - and you should totally take them to small claims court for the money they owe you. It's usually only about $25 to register the complaint, and most people just fold and pay as soon as they're served papers.

Actually, I'd send them a letter informing them that they have until such-and-such a date to mail you at least a good faith payment per your agreement, and that, if they don't, you'll file a small claims court case (which is reported to the military and can affect clearances). The threat might be enough to make them pony up.

BUt that's grouchy-knows-too-much-about-the-legal-system Mer talking.

Senys said...

Well, I don't need to take them to small claims court because I *was* going to pay the $200 to cancel my phone line with her, because I am determined to do the right thing, even if they suck. Instead of paying it, I am taking that money, plus the $90 I owed her for this months phone bill and getting my furniture fixed. I will be damned if I am going to go through any extra work (ie dragging 3 small kids with me to try and fill out legal paperwork) because she wants to act like a 2-yr-old. However, if she harasses my mother any more, or has the nerve to show up at my house after I get home, I will have a restraining order taken out on her AND make sure her husbands chain of command get a copy. I am not playing her stupid games any more. I am going to pick up the pieces (literally in the case of my furniture) and move on.