: What am I going to do?!
My father slipped on some stairs and is now in the hospital, with his knee in a cast. He will be in the rehabillitation unit for three weeks. Tonight I received a telephone call from one of my half brothers, telling me that I should call him. I did, and it was then that my father told me that he expected me to come and *live at his house* for two or three weeks while he is gone, so that I can clean and get the mail.
I, of course, absolutely cannot do this. His home is two hours away from my own, and Burlington, where I have classes twice a week, is an hour and a half away in the opposite direction. I need to fit in at least four hours of studying per day, and this is already with six hours of driving per week. How am I supposed to commute every day? How am I supposed to commute three and a half hours to class? How can I do this and not fail Physics, which I need for medical school? How can I do this and not become completely insane?
I offered to go to his place once a week and look after things, but he told me it wasn't good enough.
I cannot take the guilt and the manipulation. Yes, this man is my father-but how can I literally give up my life for his, especially when he terrorized me with his drinking for most of my young life and broke my heart by telling me that I would never be a doctor?
All of my siblings are older and have steady careers and spouses, so it has been easier for them to house-sit. They expect me to completely drop my life and my career plans! My fat, lazy, useless eldest sister hasn't been to visit him once (she sent her husband in her stead). No one is yelling at her. There is simply more pressure on me because I am the family scapegoat, and everyone is just looking for another excuse to revile me. There is more pressure on me because everyone is literally hoping that I will fail.
I am willing to do the best that I can, but once per week is all that I can manage. I don't like feeling like a nasty person. I also don't like having unrealistic expectations placed upon me. What about his housekeeper? Isn't it her job to clean? To make a long stort short, it is her fault that his knee was injured in the first place-so shouldn't she help him>
On top of that, I think that he is expecting me to *bring him the mail* at the hospital every day, which is another half an hour away from everything.
I am so upset that I feel like... like throwing things.
My father slipped on some stairs and is now in the hospital, with his knee in a cast. He will be in the rehabillitation unit for three weeks. Tonight I received a telephone call from one of my half brothers, telling me that I should call him. I did, and it was then that my father told me that he expected me to come and *live at his house* for two or three weeks while he is gone, so that I can clean and get the mail.
I, of course, absolutely cannot do this. His home is two hours away from my own, and Burlington, where I have classes twice a week, is an hour and a half away in the opposite direction. I need to fit in at least four hours of studying per day, and this is already with six hours of driving per week. How am I supposed to commute every day? How am I supposed to commute three and a half hours to class? How can I do this and not fail Physics, which I need for medical school? How can I do this and not become completely insane?
I offered to go to his place once a week and look after things, but he told me it wasn't good enough.
I cannot take the guilt and the manipulation. Yes, this man is my father-but how can I literally give up my life for his, especially when he terrorized me with his drinking for most of my young life and broke my heart by telling me that I would never be a doctor?
All of my siblings are older and have steady careers and spouses, so it has been easier for them to house-sit. They expect me to completely drop my life and my career plans! My fat, lazy, useless eldest sister hasn't been to visit him once (she sent her husband in her stead). No one is yelling at her. There is simply more pressure on me because I am the family scapegoat, and everyone is just looking for another excuse to revile me. There is more pressure on me because everyone is literally hoping that I will fail.
I am willing to do the best that I can, but once per week is all that I can manage. I don't like feeling like a nasty person. I also don't like having unrealistic expectations placed upon me. What about his housekeeper? Isn't it her job to clean? To make a long stort short, it is her fault that his knee was injured in the first place-so shouldn't she help him>
On top of that, I think that he is expecting me to *bring him the mail* at the hospital every day, which is another half an hour away from everything.
I am so upset that I feel like... like throwing things.