Physical & Emotional Abuse Support Group
Abuse is a general term for the treatment of someone that causes some kind of harm (to the abused person, to the abusers themselves, or to someone else) that is unlawful or wrongful. No one deserves abuse, period. Abuse can be emotional, physical, or sexual.
sweettheresap
I posted this in my journal for my own memories, but I just had to post it here to complain to others who will understand:-)
I was off yesterday, and I'm off again today. My job owes me 56 hours of vacation time and cannot give me a week plus off before the end of the year, so we are splitting it up. Anyway.....
My h works a regular full time job, plus he has an auto shop that he goes to every evening after getting off work. Some days he comes home from his first job to shower and change before going to the shop, some days he heads straight there. We never know which it will be. In fact, we never know when he will be home at all. I called him at 5 PM as I was cooking dinner to ask if he would be home first or was heading straight to the shop. He told me he wasn't sure and we left it at that. So, in essence, I still had no idea what time he would be home.
At 6:30 our 16 year old daughter asked if it was safe for her to go do her hair in the bathroom. I told her yes, as if he's coming home first he is nearly always there no later than 6. At 7, he walks in. She is still in the bathroom fixing her hair, he goes in the bedroom and begins to strip down to his boxers and wife-beater (ironic name for those shirts isn't it?) as he typically does when he is going to shower. I ask if he will be staying home (thinking it is already so late, I figure he must not be going to the shop tonight) and should I start cooking his vegetables. He begins yelling at me that if he had known he wouldn't have been able to take an f'ing shower, he would have just headed straight to the shop anyway (still not answering my question). I tell him that he can take a shower, our daughter will gladly finish her hair when he gets out. He screams at me that it is already f'ing 7:00 (all while expecting me to go tell her to get out of the bathroom for him, I've played this game a time or two). I do. She readily complies; unplugs the curling iron and goes into the living room to get on her iPod. I go back in the bedroom, smile and say "There you go. Bathroom's all yours. She got out for you." He begins putting BACK on the clothes he has just removed, slamming drawers and screaming that he will take an f'ing shower whenever the hell he wants to and that he is sick of this shit. He then proceeds to slam out of the house, slamming the puppy's head in the door (who had been trying to follow him) and knocking pictures off the walls with the force of the door slamming. Well.....Both girls sit there looking stunned and the youngest insists that I must have said something to him to make him so angry, but honestly I tell them I said nothing I was aware of and leave it at that.
He deigns to grace us with his presence at about 10 PM. I had cooked Stouffer's chicken alfredo for dinner. I cooked him some broccoli to go with it and heated the alfredo up. About thirty minutes after taking the plate to him, I then go into the bedroom (where he always eats) to retrieve the plate and see that he hasn't eaten much of the alfredo. I don't say a word about it because honestly I had no desire to hear him talk at this point. He snarls at me as I'm picking up the plate that he thought there was supposed to be chicken in there. Now, I'm at a loss what to say because clearly when I had taken him the plate, there HAD been chicken in it, he must have eaten that then decided to accuse me of picking the chicken out of his? Well, whatever, again I smile and say "I'm sorry there wasn't enough chicken in it" and leave before he can respond. I then do the dishes and head off to bed.
He's awake, but when I walk in he makes a ridiculous show of proving to me how much he is ignoring me by forcefully turning onto his side facing away from me. I ignore him and thankfully he falls asleep.
Now....today, I decide it is time I make copies of documents I will need when I see the attorney. I know that N's can be notorious for hiding assets and such. He has a large filing cabinet in our bedroom where he keeps his (haphazardly stored) documents. This box has never been locked in the two years that it has been here. I know this because he regularly has me retrieve documents to bring to him when I'm off work. Imagine my surprise, and morbid curiosity when I try it and it won't open--it's locked. Now I'm really wanting to get in there. After quite a search, I locate the keys outside in an old truck that's been sitting out front. Wow!
First of all, the marriage certificate is gone. Completely gone. It was there two weeks ago, so I have NO idea where he has taken it to for "safe keeping". Second, he has not one, but two checking accounts and a savings that I have no knowledge of (well, I do now). There is a bank envelope (the ones they give you your money back in) in there (yes, he's a pack rat) that a female has written "Thank you so much" and surrounded with hearts and x's and o's. (Guess he loaned someone money and kept the freaking envelope she used to pay him back in). The biggest shock were the car titles. He owns five cars (two mustangs, a truck, our daughter's car, and the one RV now, okay six because there is the new car also) that I know of. There are NINE titles in this box and NOT ONE OF THEM IS ONE OF THOSE SIX CARS. He also has a copy of my drivers license and social security card mixed in with the titles and has apparently already titled one of these nine in my name. (Don't know how in hell he keeps doing that). At this point, I've had enough and cannot stomach going through this box anymore. Oh wait...there was also the check stub from the IRS. He claimed one of our daughter's (whom he refuses to actually support) and he got back $4200 in March. HE told ME that he didn't get anything back from taxes because he owed a previous year's balance (my fault of course), but the proof was right there in my face.
However, I couldn't leave well enough alone. I didn't go through the box any more, but I then started looking through other things. Oh God I wish I hadn't. I found the boxes for the brand new iPad mini and keyboard/case/stand he just purchased for himself, and the box for a new gas powered, remote control helicopter he bought himself. All this would have been after he told me he would not contribute more to the household because it wasn't "fair" to him. Lying, entitled piece of slime.
There, I feel better now!
I was off yesterday, and I'm off again today. My job owes me 56 hours of vacation time and cannot give me a week plus off before the end of the year, so we are splitting it up. Anyway.....
My h works a regular full time job, plus he has an auto shop that he goes to every evening after getting off work. Some days he comes home from his first job to shower and change before going to the shop, some days he heads straight there. We never know which it will be. In fact, we never know when he will be home at all. I called him at 5 PM as I was cooking dinner to ask if he would be home first or was heading straight to the shop. He told me he wasn't sure and we left it at that. So, in essence, I still had no idea what time he would be home.
At 6:30 our 16 year old daughter asked if it was safe for her to go do her hair in the bathroom. I told her yes, as if he's coming home first he is nearly always there no later than 6. At 7, he walks in. She is still in the bathroom fixing her hair, he goes in the bedroom and begins to strip down to his boxers and wife-beater (ironic name for those shirts isn't it?) as he typically does when he is going to shower. I ask if he will be staying home (thinking it is already so late, I figure he must not be going to the shop tonight) and should I start cooking his vegetables. He begins yelling at me that if he had known he wouldn't have been able to take an f'ing shower, he would have just headed straight to the shop anyway (still not answering my question). I tell him that he can take a shower, our daughter will gladly finish her hair when he gets out. He screams at me that it is already f'ing 7:00 (all while expecting me to go tell her to get out of the bathroom for him, I've played this game a time or two). I do. She readily complies; unplugs the curling iron and goes into the living room to get on her iPod. I go back in the bedroom, smile and say "There you go. Bathroom's all yours. She got out for you." He begins putting BACK on the clothes he has just removed, slamming drawers and screaming that he will take an f'ing shower whenever the hell he wants to and that he is sick of this shit. He then proceeds to slam out of the house, slamming the puppy's head in the door (who had been trying to follow him) and knocking pictures off the walls with the force of the door slamming. Well.....Both girls sit there looking stunned and the youngest insists that I must have said something to him to make him so angry, but honestly I tell them I said nothing I was aware of and leave it at that.
He deigns to grace us with his presence at about 10 PM. I had cooked Stouffer's chicken alfredo for dinner. I cooked him some broccoli to go with it and heated the alfredo up. About thirty minutes after taking the plate to him, I then go into the bedroom (where he always eats) to retrieve the plate and see that he hasn't eaten much of the alfredo. I don't say a word about it because honestly I had no desire to hear him talk at this point. He snarls at me as I'm picking up the plate that he thought there was supposed to be chicken in there. Now, I'm at a loss what to say because clearly when I had taken him the plate, there HAD been chicken in it, he must have eaten that then decided to accuse me of picking the chicken out of his? Well, whatever, again I smile and say "I'm sorry there wasn't enough chicken in it" and leave before he can respond. I then do the dishes and head off to bed.
He's awake, but when I walk in he makes a ridiculous show of proving to me how much he is ignoring me by forcefully turning onto his side facing away from me. I ignore him and thankfully he falls asleep.
Now....today, I decide it is time I make copies of documents I will need when I see the attorney. I know that N's can be notorious for hiding assets and such. He has a large filing cabinet in our bedroom where he keeps his (haphazardly stored) documents. This box has never been locked in the two years that it has been here. I know this because he regularly has me retrieve documents to bring to him when I'm off work. Imagine my surprise, and morbid curiosity when I try it and it won't open--it's locked. Now I'm really wanting to get in there. After quite a search, I locate the keys outside in an old truck that's been sitting out front. Wow!
First of all, the marriage certificate is gone. Completely gone. It was there two weeks ago, so I have NO idea where he has taken it to for "safe keeping". Second, he has not one, but two checking accounts and a savings that I have no knowledge of (well, I do now). There is a bank envelope (the ones they give you your money back in) in there (yes, he's a pack rat) that a female has written "Thank you so much" and surrounded with hearts and x's and o's. (Guess he loaned someone money and kept the freaking envelope she used to pay him back in). The biggest shock were the car titles. He owns five cars (two mustangs, a truck, our daughter's car, and the one RV now, okay six because there is the new car also) that I know of. There are NINE titles in this box and NOT ONE OF THEM IS ONE OF THOSE SIX CARS. He also has a copy of my drivers license and social security card mixed in with the titles and has apparently already titled one of these nine in my name. (Don't know how in hell he keeps doing that). At this point, I've had enough and cannot stomach going through this box anymore. Oh wait...there was also the check stub from the IRS. He claimed one of our daughter's (whom he refuses to actually support) and he got back $4200 in March. HE told ME that he didn't get anything back from taxes because he owed a previous year's balance (my fault of course), but the proof was right there in my face.
However, I couldn't leave well enough alone. I didn't go through the box any more, but I then started looking through other things. Oh God I wish I hadn't. I found the boxes for the brand new iPad mini and keyboard/case/stand he just purchased for himself, and the box for a new gas powered, remote control helicopter he bought himself. All this would have been after he told me he would not contribute more to the household because it wasn't "fair" to him. Lying, entitled piece of slime.
There, I feel better now!
I hope you copied EVERYTHING. He is guilty of identity theft and probably fraud! Please contact your attorney and ask what to do about this.
Hide all copies you make someplace away from your cars & house & mutual friends.
I do hope you can get out quickly and safely.
As for my daughter's comments...thankfully, I've got both girls in very intensive counseling right now. (It was a long time coming, but they are both now seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist and we start family therapy (the girls, my son, and I..not HIM) in a couple of weeks. I've had to sit in on the first four appointments with the t and the p as they are considered "intakes" and it was distressing to say the least. My youngest actually told the p yesterday that she and her sister are afraid to stay at friend's houses, and neither of them wants to go off to college because they are afraid to leave ME with their father. They think something is going to happen to me and they don't know what will happen to them then. Thing is, there has been no physical violence--not directed at me or them anyway (just objects) in YEARS, and I honestly wasn't aware they even knew there had been any EVER until a month or so ago. But, how sad is it that our children carry that burden, particularly when I thought I was hiding it from them so well.
So, I'm assuming you are getting out soon? If you carry the majority of the financial burdens, then you might as well anyways...
please get the hell away from this monster....i think he lied to you about his salary so he sounded awesome, but wants you to think he's poor so he can withhold money. abusers think of themselves first, second and third. they are not concerned with continuity because a new lie can always be created to cover an old one.
also, your daughters will have stability because they have you - move to the other side of the planet to get away if you can - changing schools is survivable, watching a violent, abusive relationship play out every day is not. don't burden yourself with feeling guilt associated with the fallout of leaving, you will have each other to lean on and you will get through it. anything is better than your children growing up in fear.
keep doing what you're doing, be careful, and get away. you are amazing.
And, you hit the nail on the head....entitlement. That's why he's buying things for himself and expecting you to serve him. In his mind he's king.
Warm gentle hugs
It might not be a and idea for your kids to change school...doesn't sound like things will be pretty with h, once you are gone...
into the box is so close to what
I went through now-a dozen
years ago, when I was in the
process of divorcing my
then-abusive-husband.
I'm so sorry for what you
had to go through, in that
excavation.
If you were my client,
I'd advise you. . . . till
you have everything in
place, to keep on doing
the things (for him) that
you've customarily been
doing. The best thing at
this moment is NOT do
anything differently, which
would include anything
that would make him
any more abusive or
anything that looks like
you've decided to make
changes.
Speaking just for myself,
(and based on what I did
during my own week of
horrific excavation), I'd
have gone through and
copied EVERYTHING
that's in that box, or
anywhere else. . . .
whatever he's left
behind as a trail
of his abuse and
betrayal of the marriage.
Mine was supporting
a whole other FAMILY.
I found evidence that
he'd funnelled away
at LEAST
FIFTY GRAND
out of the marital
funds, to this
other family.
I copied EVERYTHING.
The day we went to
court, my lawyer
wheeled in
CARTONS
on evidence
that I'd copied.
Please
STAY SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I knew he was a jerk, I knew he was abusive, but I guess I chose to ignore exactly how much so. I'm really at a loss right now and I didn't even dent the surface of that Pandora's box. I didn't want to, it was making me physically ill. To think that for 18 years I've been making excuses, taking care of his slimy a$$, being nothing more than a slave to him, he has been perpetuating even greater levels of betrayal than I thought he was capable of. My God, I never thought he was actually cheating. Sure there were signs here and there, but I CHOSE to remain blind, justifying away why it just wasn't possible. Surely he would leave if there were someone else.
Lord, why THIS, out of everything this monster has done to me over the years, would bring me yo my knees like this, I haven't the slightest idea. It seems so minor in comparison to some of his actions, but it sure as hell doesn't FEEL minor!
I will keep the status quo. I'm a good pretender by now, but I really just want to go in the bathroom and vomit out all this b.s. Sorry for vomiting all over the boards:(
Last night it took everything in me not to spew venom at him when he got here with his arrogance. The hardest part was he is still using his phone to surf the internet. It was so hard to not ask him why he wasn't using his new iPad to surf, or was that a gift for someone else too (HA, that's funny, he doesn't give gifts, he just gets them!) I had to sleep on the couch because I really found it difficult to be "normal" with him. Sigh...gonna be a long couple months at this rate
When I found the hard
evidence that he was
supporting another
family, I'd already been
separated from him for
a good chunk of time.
But he'd said all along
that he didn't want divorce
and that he wanted to
work on what "went
wrong" so we could
reconcile and start
over.
At the time he was saying
those things, he was sending
marital funds to this woman,
her son and also to his mother
(to hide money so he wouldn't
have to split his assets, when
I divorced him).
The trail of paperwork documenting
his "other life," included a list of her
monthly expenses (along with a
thank you, followed by XXXs and
OOOs), receipts for flower deliveries
and a year's worth of her emails to
him in which they were laughing and
gloating about how horrible he was
being to me.
Little did she know that he was
lying to HER TOO. He told her that,
of course, he wasn't still sleeping
with me. SHE was being deceived,
as well!
On the weekend I found the
definitive evidence of the depth
and breadth of his abuse, we'd
been separated and I'd already
filed for divorce.
Learning what I did that weeked,
---- despite everything I already
knew ----- was a punch in the gut.
Yes. It made me physically sick.
But, when the dust settled a little
bit, it also made the necessity for
going forward on the path away
from hid abuse, crystal clear.
What I'm saying is that, though
it hurt like hell, I felt that the
universe had put a gift into
my hands. The gift was the
concrete evidence of his
level of abusiveness. Till
then, it had been emotional
abuse, and then, he'd hit
me once. . . . for which
(another gift!), he'd written
a letter of apology.
Everything ended up
eventually, in the judge's
hands.
But the weekend I'd just
uncovered all this, my lawyer
told me to say nothing about
what I had and about what I
knew.
As you know from your own
experience, This was
REALLY HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But the plan was to go along
as if nothing had been revealed,
until my lawyer had sent him
notice to appear in court for
CONTEMPT. (Funnelling funds
out of the marriage was illegal,
once the divorce was in process.)
So I met him in court. He didn't
know a thing about my discoveries
until, in the judge's champers, my
lawyer began asking him, piece
by piece, about knowing this
woman, how he knew her,
how WELL he knew her,
etc., etc.
My having to hold my cards
so close to my chest, though
it had been really, really hard,
ended in these DELICIOUS
moments.
He also ended up having
to pay court costs, though,
as he looked so good in his
suit and tie, the judge only
slapped his wrist for what
he'd done financially. The
judge did point out, however,
that he was lucky he wasn't
being sent to jail.
Ya gotta love it.
In the end, I got a
comfortable settlement
and MY FREEDOM.
A month after the divorce
he married the woman.
I sent them a congratulatory
card. They're a much better
match for each other, both of
them being slimy a__-___s.
The other good news is that
she didn't work him to death
before my alimony was
finished. (And he'd complained
the I was high-maintenance. HA!)
Don't worry, s.t.
Karma's a BITCH.