I don't know how I forgot to tell you about this....
A few weeks ago, The Ex's son had a wrestling tournament. Daughter told us all about the fun and games that went on that day. (As much as Daughter talks about The Ex and Ned, I can't help but wonder if she talks to them just as much about Husband and me. I don't think she does, but the thought still crosses my mind every now and again. Anyway....)
For whatever reason, Ned was very crabby that day. Daughter said he and The Ex were bickering about leaving; Ned wanted to get going and The Ex wasn't ready. (Husband told me about this in the past. The Ex takes forever to get ready. It takes her hours. Literally. She's not like a make-up artist that takes over an hour to perfect their look; she's not a hairdresser that takes a long time to make sure it's done right. She just. Takes. Forever.) The Ex told Ned to go by himself and said something about how she still needed to pick up her parents. (I don't know why her parents couldn't have driven by themselves, but okay.) Ned ended up leaving with The Ex's son; I don't know where her daughter was at this point.
Daughter said by the time she and The Ex got to the school where the tournament was being held, Ned was still driving around looking for a parking spot. (This makes me laugh. I'm unable to tell you why. It just does. Probably because I'm envisioning Ned with his sad little eyes and that signature dopey look on his face, hunched over the steering wheel, cursing under his breath about not being able to find a spot that he deemed "close enough" to the door.) At some point during the tournament, Ned told The Ex either to "shut up" or "stop talking to him," something along those lines.
After the tournament ended, they were going to get lunch so they went to Taco Bell. While they were there, The Ex wasn't speaking to Ned because he had told her to shut up, or whatever he said, however long ago he said it. Daughter said that Ned asked The Ex three different times if she was eating; finally, The Ex looked at him, said nothing, and went back to her phone without answering his question. (The immaturity of this relationship is just mind-boggling.) Daughter said that Ned was so pissed off by this that he stood up, shoved his chair into the table much harder than he needed to, left Taco Bell, walked across the street to Wendy's, and ate lunch by himself over there. Daughter ate with her brother, The Ex, and both of The Ex's parents. Daughter said it was stupid because Ned was the one who wanted to go to Taco Bell in the first place and then he didn't even eat there. After he ate, Daughter said they watched Ned leave and go home by himself while the rest of them stayed at Taco Bell.
Listen, I'm not saying that Husband and I are perfect. We both have our flaws, we argue with each other; it's normal to do this in any relationship. But this level of pettiness and immaturity exhibited between The Ex and Ned is just astounding to me. She's going to be 37 this year, he's going to be 40, and they fight like they're both 3. It's incredible.
For whatever reason, Ned was very crabby that day. Daughter said he and The Ex were bickering about leaving; Ned wanted to get going and The Ex wasn't ready. (Husband told me about this in the past. The Ex takes forever to get ready. It takes her hours. Literally. She's not like a make-up artist that takes over an hour to perfect their look; she's not a hairdresser that takes a long time to make sure it's done right. She just. Takes. Forever.) The Ex told Ned to go by himself and said something about how she still needed to pick up her parents. (I don't know why her parents couldn't have driven by themselves, but okay.) Ned ended up leaving with The Ex's son; I don't know where her daughter was at this point.
Daughter said by the time she and The Ex got to the school where the tournament was being held, Ned was still driving around looking for a parking spot. (This makes me laugh. I'm unable to tell you why. It just does. Probably because I'm envisioning Ned with his sad little eyes and that signature dopey look on his face, hunched over the steering wheel, cursing under his breath about not being able to find a spot that he deemed "close enough" to the door.) At some point during the tournament, Ned told The Ex either to "shut up" or "stop talking to him," something along those lines.
After the tournament ended, they were going to get lunch so they went to Taco Bell. While they were there, The Ex wasn't speaking to Ned because he had told her to shut up, or whatever he said, however long ago he said it. Daughter said that Ned asked The Ex three different times if she was eating; finally, The Ex looked at him, said nothing, and went back to her phone without answering his question. (The immaturity of this relationship is just mind-boggling.) Daughter said that Ned was so pissed off by this that he stood up, shoved his chair into the table much harder than he needed to, left Taco Bell, walked across the street to Wendy's, and ate lunch by himself over there. Daughter ate with her brother, The Ex, and both of The Ex's parents. Daughter said it was stupid because Ned was the one who wanted to go to Taco Bell in the first place and then he didn't even eat there. After he ate, Daughter said they watched Ned leave and go home by himself while the rest of them stayed at Taco Bell.
Listen, I'm not saying that Husband and I are perfect. We both have our flaws, we argue with each other; it's normal to do this in any relationship. But this level of pettiness and immaturity exhibited between The Ex and Ned is just astounding to me. She's going to be 37 this year, he's going to be 40, and they fight like they're both 3. It's incredible.
I just truly hope that Daughter understands how dysfunctional and unhealthy their relationship is.
ReplyDeleteWhile Son was raging against us toward the end of his senior year, he told one of our neighbors/friends that his mom was "finally in a stable relationship." Again, Husband and I are not perfect but I hope our relationship is enough of an example for them to differentiate between what is healthy and....whatever it is that The Ex does.
DeleteI really hope all of her kids, even the ones I'm not responsible for raising, can identify this for the mayhem that it is and take the necessary steps to prevent their own relationships from turning into a circus.