O. M. G. this thread is unbelievable!!!! Over the past two days I have read pretty much all responses
and just been amazed. I've been on the dis for a few years, but just discovered the community board in the last few months. I've been sitting here with my mouth open, as I have great in-laws, but then I realize that I'm the one with the nutty family!!! I started going out with DH when we were 18 and his family is like the Waltons (I know, I"m dating myself). My family on the other hand.....
My parents divorced when I was in my teens and both remarried. It was like cutting off one of those snake heads that multiply, and I now had two eratice crazy ones to deal with.
My mother was always a little nuts as I was growing up even when they were together. She'd ask me "who do you love more, me or daddy?". She'd have fits of depression where she'd stay in bed for days and when she would come out, she wouldn't get off the couch to change the tv station (before remote controls) and she'd call me down two flights to change the tv that's 10 feet from her. I could write a book, there's much more. When I was 15 she was moving across the country and told me if I didn't go with her, she didn't want anything to do with me. She left and we didn't speak til I was almost 19 when my older brother moved out there. Things were pretty good since she was out there and I was here, but when I got engaged several years later, she told me she wasn't going to come to my wedding if I invited my father
. Well of course I invited him, he was walking me down the aisle!! So she didn't come, and missed her only daughter's wedding. We didn't speak until I gave birth to my oldest son almost three years later, she called me in the hospital and acted like none of the previous stuff happened.
She actually was a pretty good grandmother for a while since she lived so far away and we only saw her every other year, some bizarre phone calls, but nothing major. Things went rather smoothly until she (and my stepfather) came to visit for a month one summer about 7 years ago when my kids were 10 and 7. I was working full time and she offered to come out and watch the kids for most of the summer. I got them a pool pass so they could go to the pool during the day. They went to the pool once, and once only, and one of my friends said she heard her yelling at the kids. About 2.5 weeks into it, she just flipped out one night telling me I am taking advantage of her and all of the things I don't do for her, like buy her a soda at my son's baseball game, buy her fudge when we were shopping. She didn't mention she wanted these things, but I should read her mind. She also went off about how bratty my kids are and they treat her like the **** on her shoe. She said they were lazy and disrespectful (all of this was while they were standing right there).
The final straw was one day I reluctantly left them with her on a humid, 95 degree day. We have unit air conditioners in our house as it is old, so we keep the bedroom doors shut when we are not in them. The kids left them open on this day, so she shut all the air off, left them in the hot house and spend the day in the yard smoking cigarettes in the shade. I got home and the kids clothes were soaked as they sat in front of the tv with sweat pouring off of them. I flipped out about how this borders on abuse. She went into one of her depression things for a couple of days. I tried to talk to her and smooth things over (which I generally don't do with her), but she kept telling me to get out. She was supposed to watch the kids while DH and I went to New Orleans for a weekend, but I ended up asking her to leave and got a friend to watch them. I honestly didn't trust that my kids would be safe with her while I was away and she was in this state. I forgot to mention that they drove out in a motor home, and she keeps a gun under the seat in there. I have heard rumors of her chasing my stepfather with the gun several years earlier.
There's much much more, these are just some of the highlights. Needless to say, we haven't spoken to her in almost 7 years and life has been very peaceful. On a side note, my stepfather was a dear, dear man and must have done something really aweful in a past life for the years he served with her. He would give her pedicures, color her hair, cook, clean, and had patience of a saint.
Now for the other snake head, I'll have to do a separate post.
. DH has 2 sisters and we pretty much rotate years that we travel with them and this is our year (can't you hear the excitement in my post)! They came over last night to discuss plans and while they were there, DH told them that our DS got nominated (or whatever it's called) to be on the county all star baseball team.
. Whatever. 
It's a good thing he had you! They sound absolutely terrible.
Then she refuse to help him find anything out regarding his inheritance. She only told my SIL that DH was supposed to inherit most everything. Since there is no will we only found out about a life insurance policy. If that is all there is we are completely grateful for it. She could have at least had the decency to let DH know what was going on. We haven't spoken to her in 2 1/2 years and I am fine with that.
