Microstory 287: Perspective Sixty-Two

This is an experimental Perspectives microstory. The introduction can be found in Microstory 225. More to follow.

Our son is not well, and we feel so bad about not liking him. Sure, we love him with all our heart, but he just keeps disappointing us. He always has another half-baked idea, and then he fails to follow through on it. They say that you’re supposed to love your children equally, but his brothers and sisters turned out okay, and we can’t help but notice. It’s so frustrating, because we kind of feel like he’s constantly pushing us to our limits; like he’s testing our patience. His ex-girlfriend just asked us for money so that she can move out and find her own place. We’ve given it to her, because we’ve always treated her like another daughter, and that’s what you do with family. Our son is gonna be mad about it, though, because that means it really is over. He’s been in denial about it, but this is what’s best;  they are not living under a healthy dynamic. Part, if not most, of how he can be is our fault. He was our first child that we had when we were really young. I guess we’re not as ashamed to admit it now that times have changed, but the pregnancy began when we were still seventeen, and not yet married. Unfortunately for him, he was our practice run; a situation that was completely unavoidable once we decided to keep the baby. We did a much better job with our later children. We were able to raise them with some consistency. We couldn’t figure out how to deal with him, so we would switch between coddling him and being angry and unrelenting. Of course that was wrong, and we’ve tried to make it up to him, but the damage has been done. Looking back, we think he may have some sort of learning disability that should have been taken care of. And that’s an excuse, but one that will only take you so far. At some point, once you’re an adult, you have to just grow up and get over it. You can’t use it to justify your actions, especially if you’re not willing to get a diagnosis and seek treatment. It’s time he takes control of his own life, and honestly, gets his s**t together. A family friend suggested he get a service dog for mental health. Apparently it’s done wonders for their niece. We don’t think we can help him through it, though. It seems as though the only person who he’ll listen to is his little sister’s wife. Well...one of them, that is.