Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
My wife and I are celebrating Christmas for the first time with our infant daughter, which is more magical than I could have ever imagined.
This is also the first year, however, that my wife will not see either of her parents on Christmas. My wife’s father is an emotionally and mentally abusive narcissist who refuses to accept responsibility for the pain and heartache he has put my wife through. He has, instead, doubled down on being mean to her, making empty threats towards me, and driving my wife to the place where she does not want to put herself or our baby in a situation with him. So, we’re just not going. My wife’s mother has made amends for the things from my wife’s childhood. Her ma has apologized and really tried to do right in a lot of ways. But, since her 2nd ex husband has their child today, she has picked her situationship over my wife and daughter and is about 3 hours away from us with a man that she isn’t even dating. After my wife asked her mom to spend Christmas with us, her mom said she would if she needed to “kill time.”
The wife has had a laundry list of mental and medical complications postpartum so she is not working I don’t make a ton of money, so Christmas was also tight this year.
My parents were and are great, so loving and supportive but also totally willing to take a back seat to our new and growing family.
Other than listening, talking, crying, praying and loving my wife—how can I help? My wife sees a therapist and psychiatrist and takes her medicine as directed. She also has bipolar, but has had control of that for a couple years now. Of course, I’m terrified this will change that, but I believe in my baby.
I just want to help but I feel hopeless in doing so.