Would you take care of old relatives and let them stay with you?

Philippines
March 17, 2010 1:10am CST
We are an extended family, so that means we have our relatives live with us, not all of them though but some of them. 4 years ago we had been surprised by our grandma's mom knocking on our gate, she was with another woman who acted as her companion/guide. We have not seen her for around 22 years, we hear from her once in a blue moon. Now she was on our front door gaunt looking and almost blind. She has aged so much since the last time we saw her. She never married and had no children, she helped raise one of her nieces but she (her niece)left and got married before she finished college and we have not heard from her in a very very long time too. Now my grandma's sister never mentioned to us she was coming or that she would be living with us. She just came one day and never left. We absorbed her and of course this means another mouth to feed and stretching our monthly income a little nit more. I was raised by my parents to take care of older family members but this particular one is a major league pain! She is hard to get along with and demands so much when she never spends a dime. All you could ever hear from her all day long is complains and nothing but complains. She is one ungrateful woman. I often get short tempered around her, as I have had enough of her whining and complaining. She demands that we give her money whenever she wants, and when she is given money she spends it on buying lottery tickets or gambling. She asks for money to have her hair dyed in the salon when she personally does not even have a savings account to buy her own stuff. When we give spending money to our grandma and my grandpa's sister she goes berserk and starts complaining that she is not being given enough and that she compares herself to the others. She is so da*n extravagant when we give her money, she treats almost everyone she even does not know and spends all the money all at once. When she wakes up in the morning usually at 6 am she starts opening the tv and she would not switch it off till she goes to bed. Did I mention she is blind? well she uses it like a radio. We gave her a radio a small one but she gave it to somebody else. She is seriously driving me nuts and often times I just ignore her so I won't get mad. She even meddles on how we spend our money and this one really makes me mad. I got so mad I told her to stop meddling with other people's money because it is none of her business. What I do with my money is my business. She is so nosy, she makes my head spin. So often times she asked us money because she wanted to do charity work! It made me choke in the middle of dinner! I could not help but blurt out that she was a charity case already and she wants to spend other people's income so she could have her own charity! I know it was harsh but I just could not hold it in anymore. We try to help almost everyone and she is one of them, we can't stretch it that much anymore. She can't appreciate the things we do for her. We shelter her, we feed her, we clothe her, we give her spending money when we have extra but to put up with her other demands is so much. It got to the point when we simply told her to stay with other relatives if she is not happy staying with us because that's the best we could do. Problem is other relatives would not accept her because of the kind of person she is. If there is a home for the aged nearby I would have placed her there for the sake of having a peace of mind. Besides I'm having health issues and in a lot of stress helping run the family biz I just can't take it anymore. Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Because I think I am pretty exhausted. The other thing that bites me is that she bites the hand that feeds her. She spread gossip about us to other people as if it were true. How could you deal with this?
1 person likes this
5 responses
• China
18 Mar 10
hi, candy,firstly, i can't help to say i am totally suprised by your story, i even can't imagine a woman like you said is real exist!oh, my god, i think maybe she even doesn't know what is privacy and respect!and how can you expect her to understand what is gratefulness! i wonder how old is this ungrateful woman? is she aready old enough for being fed?maybe you could send her to some welfare system.actually, i didn't have any expercise like this, all my old relatives are very nice and considerate,especially my grandmather, she help my mom to raise me up when i was very young,and my mother was busy with work, so i love her very much, and i don't have grandpa now, he have passed away long ago, i miss him so much, he is a very peaceful old man! although this ungrateful woman is so hateful,i still think everyone is virtuous when they were born, so i think maybe she is just lack of true love from relatives,if you can be more patient and make her feel more and more love, maybe she would change!of course i say maybe, cause besides this,i have no idea to deal with this sitution. bless you and your family would be better and better!
• China
19 Mar 10
oh,this woman is really difficulty to get along with.i think maybe you could talk with her directly, ask her what is she wanna,told her everyone needs respect and even she is old,but you are not responsible for feeding and taking care of her.if she can change her attitude,you would try your best to get along with each other,otherwise you would hurt each other more and more!
• India
17 Mar 10
Hi friend this type of ungrateful persons do exist on this earth, but as human being we do good and expect good, we are not god, just forget the issue, let her face her karma I have a similar experiencve, my fathers cousin has no kids, i kept her in my home for over 20 years, she was always given top priority in each matters, but she kept blaming us, disgusted i asked her to leave my home, i am human being i needed peace lol Bhuwan
• Philippines
17 Mar 10
hi Bhuwan, where did she go? lol this one was asked to leave but never did. lol
1 person likes this
• India
17 Mar 10
I had heard that she went to another relatives home, but never tracked her.
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
17 Mar 10
woww... she is definitely a very tough old woman to handle, isn't she??? i'm just wondering how is the rest of your family members react to her behaviours... also, has anybody try to have a heart-to-heart talk with her yet and tell her that her behaviours are really upsetting all of you??? i know that she is an elder and we have to respect her... but we can only do so much and tolerate a person up to the limit only... am i right??? good luck... hopefully everything will be sorted out soon... take care and have a nice day...
• Philippines
18 Mar 10
it upsets everyone as you said, but out of respect for my grandma we let her stay. We had tried to tell her the house rules and bout her behavior but she would not listen at all. This one's a tough nut to break. Yes we all have our limits and sometimes I get really mad I forget who she is.
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
17 Mar 10
Hi candyafairy21, I would find myself in great difficulty to deal with such situation. Did you consult each other, before accepting this new member in the family? I find it hard to accept the fact that a new person just comes into your life and dictates your whole life. I find that unacceptable. My grandma used to live with us when we she was alive. She was a good woman but she did interfere in our life. It was a blessing having her in our house because she helped my mum a lot in housework etc.. On the other hand it was a "curse" in the sense that we were not free to live like we wanted. We had to accomdote here. I vowed that when I grew up and be living on my own I would not allow others living with me. I discussed this issue with my wife before marriage. What will happen when both our parents become ill and cannot take care of themselves. Both agreed that we go the extra mile and help them as much as possible. But both of us agreed not to allow them in our house. I don't like the idea of living in an extended family. I like privacy and I cannot stick that someone else pokes into my things.
• Philippines
18 Mar 10
Hi Ron, When she came she just stayed and never leave. We understood she had nowhere to go so even if we did have an empty place for her we tried to accommodate her and also out of respect for my grandma. I personally do not mind taking care of relatives, my family has brought me up to extend a helping hand to relatives as an example lived by grandparents and my parents as well. However, this one is a tough cookie. I understand how you feel about not having any relatives over at your house. I know it could turn things upside down if they do not observe your house rules.
17 Mar 10
Goodness me! You must be a saint. I don't think I could take someone in who I hardly knew, even if she was family. I think you should definitely set some house rules if she is going to stay. Surely she must see that she is risking her place in your home if she behaves as she does. If I were you I'd make a list of all the things that bug you and see if you can come to some compromise with her to make your life easier. Even if her other relatives can't have her come live with them, they should still contribute financially. Then perhaps you could make her a very small allowance which she can spend as she pleases - but once it's gone, it's gone. It's very unfair to expect you to shoulder the whole burden. We are very lucky in my family. My elderly mother lives with my brother and sister-in-law but she often stays for a few days in turn with the rest of her children. Actually, we love having her and her grandchildren like having her around. We're a pretty laid-back family on the whole and she's a very nice woman.
• Philippines
18 Mar 10
hi louise, there are people who grows old gracefully and those that grows old bitterly. they have this attitude that keeps people away from them. It does stinks. Good thing your mom is a sweet woman, I could only hope this one is. Our other relatives do not help us at all, sometimes I wanted to tell them that when this woman was still able they were the ones who greatly benefited from her earnings and they must be the one to take care of her in the first place. Yes it is unfair to us to shoulder everything, but as much as we could help her we help her, but her stinking attitude is not part of the things that we should swallow in. She spread malicious gossips about us when we do not give her the things she demands and to those people I'm pretty sure they think we are monsters, when in fact its the other way around. I wish one of these days some relative will come to his senses and take her away.