My aging father just told me I am a disappointing daughter. I have a difficult relationship and this guilt tripping feels hurtful, how to deal with this?
I know this may not sound like an outright "aging parent" problem but it is for me in the given context. For a bit of backgrnd- I am an expat and don't live in my country of origin & over the years relations back home have gotten very difficult. I have always had a difficult (though not outrightly sour nor cutoff) relationship with my misogynist family (esp father which he denies that he is one) & have been happy to be be living away & has helped me create boundaries & stay a bit at peace. I have a sibling who loves close to my parents (in their 70s). Recently, we have been dealing with my mom's early onset MCI diagnosis & communication with my father on that front has been difficult. I understand that it is & will be hard on him to since he will be the primary caretaker (along with full-time household helps) for a while but today he told me how he has always taken care of his family & he thinks he has done well at that but he has not gotten anything back in return & has neglected himself and now he has to take care of my mom also. I was a bit taken aback at this. It made me feel like he is saying he has done enough & now wants someone else to take over & take care of things & logistics.
He compared a couple of instances with other families (of close friends & relatives) where he said they all do this & that together; it feels & looks good that they do these things together. He said he feels disappointed in people. He was communicating slightly indirectly but his point was very clear almost saying that he has done so much for his family that he feels disappointed that I as a daughter have not & do not pay back by being the "dutiful" daughter that I am expected (& tried to train me) to be.
In the past as well, he has always compared others with me & said how xyz's son or daughter has done this/ that for them; they go on holidays together; they visit their kids abroad & stay with them for 6 months etc. etc. There have always been set expectations from me as a "daughter" which I have never managed to fulfil & he has made it clear in these many words on my every visit back home, more so in the last 3-4 yrs. The passive aggressiveness & resentment are very clear to me.
I have of course resisted these "forced norms" as a child & even now as a 40 yr old but I was & am always told I am the difficult one for not "complying". He has made me feel guilty for living my life as a young adult & now 40 yr old so much that I have had to stop sharing my life & travel plans with him. I have tried to maintain boundaries even though they have never understood nor believe in it nor believe in why I may have wanted them in the 1st place. He is a dismissive person, has been & now with age is getting more like that. He also said how I should not take any of this negatively and that he is only telling me which clearly indicates to me he knows what he is doing- guilt tripping.
I have lived with a lot of similar guilt tripping from him all my life & now with both of them being in their 70s I am not sure how to handle this. I don't want to fight things out & be mindful of their age & health problems but my peace of mind & my life are also important to me. I feel if I really felt so attached & connected in the relationship, I would make more effort organically. I do things now but only as an obligation- a sad reality but true. At 40, I am going back to basic questions- what do our parents expect of us? How much can/should we do? Will we ever be able to please them? How do we balance our current lives with demands/ sometimes unfair expectations of aging parents? Am I being selfish?
I am hoping there are more in similar situations who have some ideas of trying to deal with this. I know I need to get into therapy & am working towards that but until then I need support & help in figuring this out from this community that I have been silently reading for a while!
Thank you for your patience on this long read!
24 Answers
Popular Questions
Related Questions
- Help me decide how deeply to be involved with low contact toxic parents?
- Mom is 98 and in rehab for a broken hip. There are 4 of us kids (ages 62-76). We are split on what to do when she gets discharged.
- My 87 yr old narcissistic mother lives with me and my family. Social security only income. She is ruining our lives. What to do? No Medicaid yet.
- My 93 year old mom gets upset when I tell her I need to go downstairs to my apartment. I feel like a prisoner.
Fortunately, I followed my own instincts--yes, even though they hadn't always been sound historically. Although I was never in full compliance with 1950s norms, especially for women, what dad didn't know didn't hurt him. I had been a "golden child" in his eyes, so his rejection was a HUGE change. (We never spoke again.) It was what it was, and I have no regrets.
My suggestion? Do what seems right for you. Do what you reasonably can for your parents if you choose, but YOU (and your family if/when you have one) should always come first.
In this day in age people are still like this, even more so now, than ten years ago. It truly makes me sick. To think what you went through 55 years ago. And in my eyes, things really haven't changed a lot.
Children of narcissistic parents , often here the same thing, "I'm not going to live forever, you will regret ......( Fill in the blanks). I think many of us have heard that.
After watching the post , I started thinking, do I regret, anything I have or have not done the last 4 years?
My answer was YES, I regret not putting up enough boundaries, I regret running around to please mom for 3 years, and get no appreciation, just do more more more, I regret bringing moms problems home.
Do I regret, the last 6 months of seeing less of mom, do I regret putting down my boundaries, do I regret, living and enjoying my life.
NO.
Moral of my story is , we children of difficult parents will not regret the same things that they think we will.
But if we don't stand up for are selves we will have many regrets!!
Disappointed children form the line to the right.
Disappointed parents form a line to the left.
The lines are long.
Hope he finds his place in them.
As to what our parents expect of us, that is quite beside the point. Not only is it beside the point, but it isn't in our control. Why waste time on it?
No one can help the unrealistic expectations of another, nor change them. Simply admit your limitations, form your boundaries, and get on with your own life.
You didn't cause illnesses and the problems that come with them and with aging. You can't fix it. Guilt requires causation and a refusal to fix things that you can fix. So guilt doesn't apply to it. You are instead dealing with the other g-word, which is grief. Grief that you have no way to please your parents and win their love. Grief that you must stand witness to your family aging, suffering and dying.
Get on with your life. Rumination and marination in all this "stuff" will never help.
You will not please a judgemental parent EVER. You are not responsible for his satisfaction, which is his problem. You are human and as a human you have your unique limitations; honor them.
"Yeah I know I'm a disappointment, but you and mom both made me that way, so you have no right to complain, because you weren't the best parents either". Then don't say anything else and stick to the task(s) at hand.
He's baiting you and wants you to respond with emotions, don't. Just don't.
Ignore his whinging and live your life as you see fit. Anytime someone implies you have to do something because of “cultural reasons” they’re full of crap and trying to keep you down.
Keep your boundaries firm. Live your life to the fullest. It is up to him to cope with any disappointment he feels. It is not up to others to change to fulfill his expectations.
What you said here "A complete lack of self awareness, oblivious to how their words and actions alienated us." is what I want him to understand but I know that's a lost cause. Thank you for listening & responding.
"You must already understand" - "No I don't".
Two objectives: If he does it, at adequate length, you can see it all and decide how to respond (perhaps a good laugh). If he doesn’t do it, you stop all criticisms ‘until he does what you have asked, so you can really understand’. It’s a quick way to justify putting the phone down.
.......
PS Thinking for a few minutes more, my guess is that your F always bossed your M about, and she propped up his ego by agreeing with him. Now with Mild Cognitive Impairment she is no longer giving him that ego boost. He is wanting you to come to the party instead. It's about him, not you and not her.
I wish our conversations went both ways but not anymore. It is more of him just speaking & me listening & not reacting to keep the peace. Every time I have said anything in the past it has been dismissed so I have overtime learnt to just keep my thoughts to myself. From past experience, asking him to tell me anything on email will be a pointless exercise even though I'd very much like to do it.
I wish the conversation was reasonable enough for him to even listen to me. His general disdain for me (a woman), my independence, my opinionated self, rubs him the wrong way & even though he won't accept it, I know it exists.
You have done well so far. Dad is from a different time and culture. He will never understand how you think and feel. Maybe ask him what he thinks he had done for you. You may want to tell him that to be loved and respected you have to give love and respect. You can't demand it. Tell him your sorry that your not the daughter he feels you should be. But living in another country you have been able to become the woman you want to be and are proud of that. You have found peace in another Country that you would never have found in his country. You are not and never will be a "dutiful" woman. Its just not who you are. He needs to except that.
Keep your boundaries. Never feel you need to go back and care for them. Others can do that. You can visit to give someone a break. Send money to help out. There are ways to be there from a distance.
Read this article:
https://lifelessons.co/personal-development/
I found it very enlightening.
Live your life and visit mom at your convenience. Let dad's rantings go in one ear and out the other. Welcome to the Parents Who Are Disappointed In Their Daughters Club. I was also disappointed in my parents, but apparently we don't get a say in that!
Good luck to you.
https://lifelessons.co/personal-development/covertpassiveaggressivenarcissist/