Taking it up the arse

I can normally see the funny side to most situations. An exaggerated sense of the ridiculous has saved my liver from having to break down many years worth of anti-depressant medications, I am thankful for that! But...my current predicament, I am sad to say, has left me bereft of a wise-crack.

I was tossed a rather bewildering challenge over the weekend. It seems that if I wish to place boundaries and limits on acceptable behaviours for my stepson, then I am to enforce and manage this myself. My partner and I have different standards, shall we say, of what is tolerable conduct from the child, and what is not. And my partner does not wish to exert any more effort than he already does in order to deal with the daily goings on. Now in my liberal, live and let live mind I believe his stance to be fair enough. His prerogative. He is the child’s dad and all that...HOWEVER there is this niggling kind of agitating kind of ever-present shrieking voice inside me that is strongly urging me to run in the opposite direction – which obviously, if this were ever going to be an option, I would have done it two years ago - however, my primal hind brain still thinks this situation reeks of a setup, and my body feels as though I have been kicked in the guts and no-one is here to help me back on my feet. A bit dramatic perhaps? I am not sure. We live very remotely, we have one vehicle that is off the road at present (my lovely, comfy old beemer), which leaves us only my partners 4WD and an enormous motorbike that I can’t handle when it’s balanced by its stand, let alone ride the damn thing – as modes of transport/escape. Is the picture becoming clear? All this amounts to being trapped with a small tyrant, oh and a very large one too! It really is no laughing matter...

I should also add at this point that things have changed a bit in our house. My partner’s current job requires him to leave the house at 7am each morning, and return home late afternoon, early evening. This leaves me in sole charge of the hellion on a daily basis. A situation that has both positive, and negative aspects to it. On a positive note, this one-on-one time is certainly great for establishing wee routines (not my strong point), getting to know my stepson better and means that I don’t have to worry about my partner looking over my shoulder, or listening to all our interactions every second of the day. However, this one-on-one time also brings very much to the fore patterns and habits and behaviours of my stepson that just aren’t acceptable to me. Answering back and arguing continually. Mucking about and not following instructions...I mean it’s not as though the routine every school morning varies very much! I find that I am up to my neck in parenting this child. A child who is difficult on a good day, and lucky to be alive on a bad one! It seems that if I really want to make a difference here, I am going to have to take it up the arse and do it on my own. Or buy some rose-tinted glasses...or antidepressants...gasp!

I’m off now – need to find my funny bone!