It’s not just raining, it’s fucking pouring. in After OD

The last couple months have been a total shit show.
In October my dad was hospitalized for congestive heart failure. My parents are divorced, and my brother is pretty much useless. So, everything fell on me when it came to taking care of anything he needed. He is a high strung narcissist and so while he is a very intelligent man, he believes no one knows more than him, including doctors. I literally received 18 phone calls a day from him with his constantly changing self diagnosis based on what he read on the internet. At one point he called me at 7am to tell me he was going to die any minute and I needed to write down everything he told me so I could take care of his estate. Then said he had to call me back. Thirty minutes later, he wasn’t dying, he just misinterpreted something. It was emotionally taxing to deal with all of this, to say the least.
He left the hospital with a plan to get healthier in order to avoid surgery, as he may not survive it anyway. Since then it’s been an exhausting ride. I think he realized his time is limited and also that he really has no one close to him in life. His answer to this is to show up at our house almost daily, and call me multiple times a day. I love my dad, despite his narcissism, and the emotional abuse he has put me through over the years, but it is incredibly hard to be the only person he relies on.
In the midst of dealing with that, my husband was fired from his job a week before Thanksgiving. This was completely unexpected. An employee had been taking discarded broken product from the dumpster and my husband was told about this by another employee. He reviewed the handbook and found no policy regarding the matter and so he did not take further action. When his boss came in, another employee spoke to her about it so she asked my husband if he knew of anyone taking merchandise. Hubby has ADHD and so he has trouble communicating clearly. He interpreted the question as though she was asking if anyone was stealing product from the shelves, and so he said no. The boss interviewed other employees and then discussed with my husband the dumpster situation. He told her why he didn’t come to her about it, but she felt he was being deceptive and so he was let go. He is devastated. He loved this job and thought he finally found where he belonged. He was blindsided by this whole thing. He fucked up big time at his previous job and was fired, and so this time was crushing because he tried so hard to be honest and do everything by the book. He is not a dishonest guy and he is an extremely hard worker, but he has gone through 5 jobs in the last 8 years. Two times he was let go due to downsizing, one job he left for a better company, and the last two he was fired.
He was diagnosed with ADHD less than 2 years ago, and I know it plays a huge role in why he struggles so much. He is medicated, but I believe therapy is in order for him to truly get a grip on things and succeed in life. I am left feeling so unsure of everything. I am now always wondering when the other shoe is going to drop. I have anxiety and depression and crave stability. Not knowing if he’s going to lose his job at any given time wears on me!
He has been job searching and is waiting on a formal offer for a new position. It’s nothing great, but should be similar in salary, better health insurance, and closer to home, which are all positives. We just were not prepared for any of this and we are running out of funds quickly. Worst timing ever. Our daughter will get plenty for Christmas, but not what we could have done.
And finally, our Christmas is going to be very different this year. Our daughter tested positive for covid yesterday. She was vaccinated at the start of summer, but didn’t get her booster yet. The school stopped requiring masks on Monday and 5 days later she was showing symptoms. The test turned positive immediately. Twice. So we are now stuck at home for at least 10 days. No celebrations with friends or family. It’s heartbreaking, especially thinking it may be my dad’s last Christmas.
The kid is doing okay overall, but is not feeling good. No taste or smell, is very tired, and quite congested. I really hope that’s it and it doesn’t get worse. I could not imagine having her in the hospital. Hubby and I are both vaxxed but only I have my booster so far. Please God, heal her fast and keep us safe. I just can’t take anymore.

Last updated December 18, 2021