Cringe & Facepalm

I feel like I can’t go anywhere with my folks without them ranting about someone’s tattoos or piercings later.

My Dad is worse about it, but my Mom will gripe about it too.

We got in the truck after picking stuff up at Home Depot and my Dad says, “Did you see that Guy?! He was COVERED in tattoos!.”

My brother and I just said, “no”.

He accused us of not being observant enough. We explained that it’s not that. No, we didn’t notice him, but more importantly, we simply don’t care.

If it’s not that, it’s “Our waitress was such a pretty girl, too bad about all those tattoos.”

It’s every day. Every. Damn. Day.

I grew up going to punk rock and metal concerts and festivals. And I try to explain to them that some of the nicest people I’ve ever met had tattoos, piercings and wild haircuts. That I literally hardly notice them anymore.

What confuses me is, it’s nothing new. They’ve had decades to get used to it. What’s the big deal?

I just don’t understand why it’s STILL such a sticking point for them.

Do your Boomer relatives still do this?

This was a few years ago. My youngest, who is now 7, was “occasionally” being watched by my MIL. He was about 10-11 months at the time, We paid her. That’s a whole other post.

Anyways I get back from work one day to see my now ex husband in the kitchen looking worried. He’s stressed. The baby’s asleep. My MIL is in our living room, looking…solemn and kinda pissed. I quietly aak what’s up, and he says:

1.) he caught his mom giving the baby wine. Like out of a glass. He was allegedly teething and she needed the booze to medicate him. This happened more than twice that afternoon.

2.) the neighbors caught his mom putting the baby in the front seat. No car seat. They saw her put him in and take him out.

We decided to approach her. United front. We tell her:

1.) please don’t give the baby alcohol, she claimed he “was fussy from teething” and the wine “calmed him down.” I’ll bet it did. Fuck.

2.) she confessed to the car seat issue. She said he was crying in his car seat, he hated it. So she pulled over “on the highway and put him in the front seat.” Our jaws dropped. We told her next time go to a gas station, call us, you know other options? So now just puts him the front claiming “it was good enough for her kids…”

She claimed she always gave her kids “alcohol to soothe them” and rarely used car seats in “her day.”

She was not allowed to drive the kids again. And she did back off the booze.

I get it, kind of. But it definitely was a “holy shit” moment. Given how finicky my SILs were with their kids, I was pretty shocked. I still have no idea what to say about it.

Edit: attention people who think CPS should have been called. There is more to the story and my son is safe and sound. This was about 5 years ago. I’m no longer married to his dad. And yes, I did lose my shit. Privately. Screaming at my MIL and acting like a lunatic would not handle this. My ex husband apparently laid into her afterwards. It was handled. Let’s please not start calling for child abuse charges.

Went to go pick up my order that I placed online and while I was filling my own drinks I heard the printer print another receipt. I then overheard the cashier talking to someone in the back about getting another online order that had zero tips and then followed up with “they must have spent all their money on church” (I assume they mean tithing).

This is a restaurant where you walk up to a cashier and place your order, then fill up your own drinks and your name is called so you go pick up your own food.

Like the title says, my boomer dad will plan his yardwork (his one and only interest) around my off days so that he can insert me into them.

I work a tough manual labor job, I'm not complaining, I get paid decently and it gives me exercise through the 8 hours of my shift. But that means when the weekend comes and I have my days off I am sore and tired. I'm not looking to dig fence post holes or plant things or move stone pavers or whatever else he concocts up to fill his time.

It happened again this weekend. Literally on Friday I get a text from him saying "oh you know that one project I mentioned to you last weekend?". He has never mentioned this before. "oh thats my bad, anyway we are going to be moving plywood sheets and nailing them to the side of the barn. Why don't you be down here by 11 on Sunday?"

We are going to be moving plywood? WE?

I explained to him that I will not be doing this and he cannot keep making plans and just assume that I will be there. He can and should be hiring professionals for this. He has the money. He trots out the "why don't you care about your parents? Wheres your work ethic? ect"

Does anyone else have this happen to them?