What's upsetting you today?

[chrisinhouston]

Got a phone call early this morning from my stepson. Turns out his wife was at a meeting for a group she volunteer for and after the meeting she and some others decided to grab a bite and continue discussing some issues. After the meal she and another lady were on their way out to their cars and talking as they got ready to depart. A car pulled up with 3-4 guys, the drive asked for directions. My daughter in law who is very helpful walked towards the car to help and that is when the driver pulled out a pistol and robbed both of them! Drove off with their purses.

She was pretty shook up and after calling her husband (luckily had her phone and keys in her pocket) they dealt with the police, etc. The police said there had been 3 other stickups in the area, probably the same guys and they had fired a shot at one woman who ran, missed her but still!

Crazy world.

[BigV]

ho-lee crapola.

I'm glad she's safe. there's no rational defense against an ambush robbery like this. I'm glad she's safe, and sorry about her losses and her psychic injuries. damn.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by busterb

Can you say? Thanks for affirmative action.

Ok, "thanks for affirmative action".

but I don't understand why that's pertinent.

[Chocolatl]

Whoa! Glad to hear she's safe -- how frightening!

[Clodfobble]

I'm so glad they just took the purses and left. How terrifying!

[orthodoc]

Horrible. I'm glad they're safe, chris.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Good move, phone and keys in pocket, C-4 and remote receiver in purse.

[Aliantha]

This issues is half way between upsetting me and pissing me off.

As you know, Maverick has been seeing the same girl for a year or so now, and everything was pretty hunky dory till a couple of months ago. She has some issues from her past which she really needs to address, and these issues lead to some pretty obsessive and clingy behaviour towards Mav.

Now, this girl is Mav's first 'real' girlfriend. Things got pretty serious pretty quickly between them, and basically she's a nice girl, but she's just not that much of a thinker. Education is not high on her list of things to do. I've tried every way I can think of to encourage her to get the help she needs in the form of counselling and possibly medication, but there's only so much I can do and the situation was getting a bit beyond what I considered my realm of responsibility, so I went to her father with it all. Seemingly he was on board and felt that the suggestions I had were pertinent and that he'd take over and I wouldn't have to worry any more.

Anyway, that has not been the case, and yesterday (which happened to be her 18th birthday) things came to a head and she and I had quite an argument. she started yelling at me and I told her to leave the house if she couldn't address me in a respectful manner. She said that she and Mav would be fine if everyone would just leave them alone, which speaks to the heart of the issue. Mav has basically cut himself off from all his friends from school and sport. The only person he actually spends time with is her. He's fallen behind in some of his schooling and is pretty much becoming someone I don't actually like very much. So, I told them no more seeing each other during the week. she can come over one night for dinner, but needs to be gone by 9pm. They can spend time together on the weekends like normal young couples, but they both need to start spending time following their own interests without having to do everything together.

Of course, now I am the enemy as far as she's concerned and Mav is stuck in between her and the rest of his family.

My vision here is that she gets her shit together and everyone can be happy again, or she continues on the same way until eventually she loses hiim or we do. My only consolation in it is that I hope Mav will wake up to what's going on here before she ends up pregnant, cause that's my greatest fear. That he's going to tied to a woman who is lovely as long as she's getting everything her own way, but if she doesn't, she turns into a bunny boiler.

Scary days ahead.

[DanaC]

Ouch. Thats a difficult one to deal with. Hope it works out, honey.

[Sundae]

Ah Ali. Daughters or sons it's young pregnancies that many parents fear.
At least forward-thinking parents.

I can't imagine ever rowing with any of my teen BF's Mums. Good FSM, the only one who wouldn't have lamped me one was so genteel that I think she peed rosewater.

The only thing which can't be changed is what you fear - a baby at this age.
And yes of course I get that because we went through it all with Abs. Three times if you count the twins as two.
Anything else can be resolved in time. Education can be picked up (many mature students here), family relationships can be rebuilt, even a prison sentence isn't actually a death sentence - well, not in Aus.
It must be bloody hard to live through though. Seeing it from the outside doesn't take into account any of your emotions.

All I can suggest is to remember she is still a child in some ways.
Because she is young and because she has emotional/ mental health (?) issues.

Good luck.

[Clodfobble]

I know it's so hard when you have years more experience than either of them, and you can see young people making mistakes that are so easy to fix if only they would listen. On the other hand, I would really encourage you not to burn bridges or make ultimatums. She's technically an adult, and your ability to control either of them is rapidly dwindling.

Maybe not a pleasant thing to think about, but this girl might not only end up having your first grandchild, but perhaps being your daughter-in-law as well. I know for sure my mother-in-law regrets a lot of things she said to me before she realized I'd be a permanent fixture in her life.

[Aliantha]

Well, the main thing I'm trying to do is advocate for Mav. He actually wants more time to himself, but he doesn't speak up for himself because she goes off her tree when he suggests she not come over etc. By 'off her tree' I mean she cries and yells and accuses him of not loving her etc.

Anyway, I've been telling mav for some time now that he needs to grow a set of balls and tell her how it is for him. I think he's finally realised what a mistake he's made by not doing so. There's a lot of tension between her family and ours now, to the point where Aden is actually looking over his shoulder because he thinks her brothers are going to come beat him up. (Aden and Kate don't see eye to eye on much. Mostly Aden doesn't like how she treats his brother, and Kate hates the fact that Aden stands up to her)

Anyway, I've asked Mav to take some time out over the next week or so and start to really weigh up whether or not this is the sort of relationship/family he wants to be involved with. I've pointed out to him that if she doesn't change her way of thinking, what's he's dealing with now is what he's got to look forward to for the rest of his life with her. I've cautioned him about wearing condoms etc and explained my fears. He's been quite open with me about the fact that he sees my point and agrees with most of what I am saying. Daryl and Aden have both told him what they think too, which has been helpful in some ways. Not so much in others. Basically though, his relationship is affecting the whole family adversely and something has to change. I just hope it's all for the better.

[Nirvana]

A friend had vascular surgery for the second time in so many months. He did not make it through the surgery. He died yesterday. This was not heart surgery they were placing a stent in his back because of circulatory problems in his legs.

This is one of the things people can look forward to if they have been smoking for 30+ years and IMO its so preventable. I will miss him

I am reminded of the old Yul Brenner commercial he did right before he died when he said "Whatever you do don't smoke"

[Griff]

Ah bumage. Sorry.

[orthodoc]

Sorry, Nirvana.