Author Topic: AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! daughter and granddaughter moved in...H-E-L-P  (Read 2299 times)

Offline Daven

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Ok- this could EASILY develop into the longest post ever written but I won't do that.

LONG story short, my daughter recently moved in with my wife and I with my granddaughter. Because my EVIL ex-wife I have not been able to have my daughter much in my life as much as I tired. (I couldn't even find them until my daughter turned 17. We have since had a semi-good relationship. My daughter became pregnant at 19 and the father is NOT in the picture ( he was abusive). My granddaughter is now turning 2 on Thursday (Oct 20th) and my daughter is now 21.   Because of a REALLY bad abusive situation with my ex-wife my daughter fled Seattle and flew down with my granddaughter last Thursday.

Since growing up in a horrible drug/alcohol abusive situation, my daughter is a bit of a rebel.  She has about 12 tattoo's including a chest piece and partial sleeves. She also has zero size gauges. I don't have a problem with it but my family (sister and her family and parents) are ULTRA conservative.  My parents live in AZ (with me) Oct - May and Wisconsin the rest of the year.  They come home Saturday.   Needless to say I am a bit stressed. on top of that, my daughter now identifies herself as lesbian. Again, I don't have a problem but my family does. How do I do this? I can NOT or will NOT let my daughter and granddaughter go back to that abuse but I am REALLY lost, My daughter dropped out of high school but got a GED. She let my evil ex-wife (I call her the dragon-lady) keep my granddaughter (GD) most of the last 2 years, so I am teaching her discipline (had no bedtime, bad eating habits, threw fits etc).

I am REALLY struggling here. on top of it all, stress exacerbates my M.S.  Any assistance can really be appreciated. 

Now, one question is, my daughter is also atheist, As a Christian and part time pastor, this is a struggle for me as I want her to have God in her life. She was talking about "I really hope I get a laptop for Christmas". As an Athiest should I tell her my GD will get presents but if you don't believe  you don't get presents just because?  That's was the original question for this post anyway.

See, I told you it would be long


AKA Gimpy


Offline buddha

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Re: AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! daughter and granddaughter moved in...H-E-L-P
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2011, 11:04:50 AM »
The lyrics to an old blues song come to mind.
"I'm three times seven
Lord that makes twenty one,
ain't nobody's business what I do."

If you want your daughter to move out of your place and maybe go somewhere that won't be as safe as your house then, by all means, try to dictate things like religious/sexual preference. I say this because, having grown up in an abusive situation, it is what she's used to and, believe me, she'll have no problem finding her way into a new abusive situation. It also sounds kind of manpulative to tell her that you'll withold Christmas presents if she doesn't believe in God. Wait, did I say kind of manipulative? Dude, that is TOTALLY manipulative!
That being said, as she is twenty one she is responsible for explaining her choices to others. So if she is a lesbian let her explain that to your parents, if that is necessary. You don't have to let her be abused, just let her defend herself and her choices. Not that being a lesbian is a choice unless, of course, it is being spoken as part of a rebellion.
As you are afflicted by MS and since stress exacerbates your MS my choice, were I in your shoes, would be to reduce the amount of stress I bring into my life. It doesn't sound as though you had a whole lot to say about the upbringing of your daughter so you do NOT have to defend the person that she has become. If anybody attempts to guilt you into taking a hand in something that is basically none of your business, that being the person that your daughter IS, you could tell them that she's had it rough and your main concern is showing her that she's loved and valued and that's why she came to live with you. As far as changing who she is or making her believe in God, not your job. Plus, the absolute best you can hope to do is to get her to make a coerced statement to the effect of "Yeah, yeah, OK, I believe in God, alright?" but you can't make anybody believe. Who knows, she lived in an abusive situation for almost all her life. What if she prayed to God every single day to please get her out of this and in spite of her repeated pleading God never rescued her. Maybe that was sufficient to cause her to not believe. So show your daughter and your granddaughter that you love them UNCONDITIONALLY! Unconditionally means that you love her even though she has her own beliefs and with no regard for what any outsider's opinion might be.
If the people who are so intent on making you alienate her can't hear any of that there's always the Gospel of Go F**k Yourself.

P. S.: The other option, if all of this is causing too much stress, is to kick her and the kid out.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2011, 12:31:01 PM by buddha »
"Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it never really care for anything else thereafter."
Ernest Hemingway, On The Blue Water.

Offline Oracle

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Re: AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! daughter and granddaughter moved in...H-E-L-P
« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2011, 10:11:09 PM »
Daven, you're going to have to set some firm rules to be followed from the beginning.  I don't know if you

Offline Oracle

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Re: AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! daughter and granddaughter moved in...H-E-L-P
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2011, 10:36:35 PM »
Sorry Daven!  My Lyme is bothering my hands lately and I hit a wrong button.  To finish my last post, to have got to set some firm rules for everyone to abide by while they are at your home.  Your parents and sister have to realize that your daughter is your priority at this time.  You didn't really get a chance to have her in your life until recently and you want that chance to bond with her and your granddaughter now.  It already sounds like you are doing good with the baby.  Now for your daughter, but don't let her play you either.  She either goes to school or she goes to work and helps with some of the bills.

You parents and your sister need to know that they are your guests.  You married and moved out of their home many years ago and started your own family.  You do not need them to tell you how to raise your daughter. 

Do your parents pay your rent?  If not they certainly  don't have a right to tell you or daughter how to live.

Good luck and hang in there!

Jim