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Hawke53051 posted:
Be prepared to be dazzled. This is bound to have alot of twists and turns. The reason i'm putting this here, is because i don't know what else to do. First of all, my name is Scott. I am 38 years old. I am not legally married, but I have a "wife" by the name of Lynn. she is 60. Don't ask. More about lynn in a bit. 20 years ago (when i was 18) I was going with a girl by the name of Connie. she's 40 now. She became pregnant by me. I suggested she get an abortion or giving her up for adoption.. She then told me she would put her up for adoption. Stupid thing, i know. But she canged her mind and she told me to get out and never come back.. I did. She had a baby girl (Tammy). I demanded a DNA test. She was my child. I held her a total of 4 times when she was a baby and I never knew her growing up. During that time Connie & i started dating again. I don't remember why we broke up again, but things soured. 11 years later she pressed for child support.I built up in my mind, by this time, that she had brainwashed Tammy against me and that Connie was not a nice person. We saw each other at the support hearing. I got to talk to my daughter for the first time. We spent about an hour talking about stuff in general. By this time my wife Lynn had been in the picture for about 2 years.We are not legally married, but have been together 16 years. We may as well be married. I had heard Connie & Tammy had moved to New York... last year, I had some fidelity problems. My wife's trust of me had gone right out the window. We were working on putting things back together. Cue a month ago. I looked up my daughter on Facebook and got back in touch with her and her mom. After a tense couple of days, I was accepted as her father. She now calls me daddy, and we hug and all the things daddys are supposed to do for their daughter. Did i mention that Connie still is in love with me, and regrets what happened 20 years ago? More on this in a bit. Now here's where it gets interesting... I'm not interested in Connie. My wife thinks i'm sleeping with her. (For the record, i'm not..) My daughter wants to see me all the time and my wife tells me I can only see her one day a week and talk to her on IM whenever I want but until 10PM and then she gets me. I want to be there for my daughter, but be there for lynn. Connie AND Tammy both have emotional issues. Connie was physically abused by 3 different guys and one of them was her ex-husband of 7 years. my daughter was raped at 6 by a 12 year old, and was beaten by the same ex-husband. That, tacked on that i wasn't there for her (abandonment issues)... Yea... So what do i do to create a happy medium? Thanks for reading, and I look forward to the responses.
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fotogirl525 responded:
Wow what a situation! I am so sorry that you are in this dilema. I don't have any experience with any of this however I suppose I will just give my opinion. First I am curious how far away does Tammy live from you now? I think you need to be there for your daughter but also don't let that take away from Lynn. You should be able to see Tammy more than once a week if you wish but can you include Lynn on your visits? If Lynn is your "wife" or might as well be then she is just as much family as Tammy is. Lynn is jealous. Possibly even jealous of Tammy. Here comes Tammy into your life all of a sudden and now there isn't as much time for Lynn. Sit down and explain to Lynn the obligation that you feel to your daughter. Tell her how much you want her to be a part of Tammy's life too. It sounds as though Tammy is legally an adult now so really you don't need to interact with Connie, and you shouldn't. Be a good daddy but also a good husband. Do your best to have family time and not just Tammy time:) As far as communicating with Tammy, you should be able to whenever you want to without permission from Lynn. This is your daughter, not your ex. However it is reasonable that you cut it off at some point to go have quality time with Lynn too. Maybe try to chat with Tammy every other day or something like that so that Lynn dosen't feel like she has lost you to this new found daughter. Good luck!
 
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Hawke53051 replied to fotogirl525's response:
Yes, all 3 of them met at the child support hearing 8 years ago. The thing is, I see Tammy every Saturday. I'd like to see her more frequently. The thing is, that every time I suggest it Lynn goes on her "then why don't you just move in with her" kick. The tune gets stale real fast. I feel like a teenager being put on a curfew again. Consecquenses of which are a chain on the door. I think this is extremely immature on her part. I know she says it out of fear of losing me, so I don't take her up on her offer. Did I mention Lynn is disabled? So there's alot of insecurities about her age, her disability, and my fidelity, of which, there's nothing going on..

Now, if Tammy had her way, I'd be moved in with mom playing happy little family. She's made it no secret she'd like a little brother. Ummmm. No. I went through all of that 19 years ago. i'm not going through it again. She has insecurities of her own. She's afraid that I'm going to run out again, (only time will prove I have no intention of that.) attatchment issues (having mom along ALL THE TIME, and not allowing her to go out alone) and anger issues...

Connie is your typical beaten down emotionally woman. She's broken. I'm trying my best to help her through this. Her still being in love with me doesn't help matters. But i'd stilll like to help her start her life again seperate from Tammy.
 
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FCL replied to Hawke53051's response:
Why can't Tammy come and spend time at your home? After all, if things had gone the traditional route, she'd have spent every other weekend with you (and then some) anyway? It would be great to let Lynn get to know her better and Connie wouldn't even be in the picutre seeing as Tammy is an adult. Why not give it a try. After all, you're all grown-ups ... aren't you?
 
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Hawke53051 replied to FCL's response:
Yes, but Tammy doesn't like my wife at all and will start an argument with her. I don't need her to start yelling and disrupting the household.
 
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Hawke53051 replied to Hawke53051's response:
I also live with Lynn's mom who is 87 years old and has a weak heart. She doesn't need any more stress.
 
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fotogirl525 replied to Hawke53051's response:
Tammy needs to get over it. She is an adult now and it is time that she start behaving like one and give Lynn the respect that is due. Tell Tammy that this is the way it is and that Lynn is a major part of your life and that you have no intention of getting back with Connie. If Tammy can not be respectful on Lynn then your time with Tammy should be limited. Connie is a grown woman and needs to survive on her own as well. Let her find someone else to help her get back on her feet. You are an ex for a reason.


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