Combat Fatigue

Meaning #1: a mental disorder caused by stress of active warfare
  Synonyms: battle fatigue, combat neurosis, shell shock

Here it is, it is not pretty, but it is the truth…I have combat fatigue. This of course is my own diagnoses, I have not seen a doctor for it, but being a Mom means making sudden diagnoses on the fly. The cause of this disorder? My Family…

 It did not just happen, but over time they have all become oblivious. Sitting at dinner, eating talking and suddenly they lose the ability to see their own glass. I wake up the next morning and there are at least two glasses with beverages from the night before still sitting on the table. They might do their own laundry, or I might do it, but for some reason they are only able to see one clothing item at a time. This is the only explanation I have for them running down to the laundry room and grabbing one item and coming back upstairs. Their shoes are dumped by the door, the toaster is left out and the absolutely most annoying thing…we run out of toilet paper and no one replaces it.

 Yesterday afternoon I put the fresh and final roll of toilet paper in the house on the holder. My thought was that I would stop and get some more toilet paper on my way home from visiting Aunt Nina today. This morning when I woke and stepped into the bathroom, I was greeted with another empty roll. Excuse me? Where did all of that paper go? Did someone make an outfit out of the stuff? Also, now what am I suppose to do? Did anyone of them think of that? NO OF COURSE NOT!! The worst part is I just had discussed with Mark last night how frustrated I am with the fact that my family is not taking care of their messes. Then the first thing I am greeted with this morning is the fact that I will have to "drip dry". No one can bring some tissue into the bathroom? Now as if I am not already frustrated enough, I am greeted with two half empty glasses from last night's dinner on the dining room table and several stacks of laundry that I washed yesterday on the counter in my basement. In the kitchen there are crumbs everywhere since wiping up after yourself is impossible, and the toaster is glaring at me saying "So? What's the big deal?"

 As if all of this is not stressful and annoying enough when I mention the shirt that needs to be put away, or the glass or earrings lying about, I am either ignored or talked to like I am being rude and inconsiderate to even mention these things. I mean really, how rude of me. Can't I see that they are in a hurry? It is almost as if they are thinking; What about it, can't you take care of it? I remember one of the places I use to work had a sign in the lunch room that said "CLEAN UP YOUR MESS, YOUR MOTHER DOES NOT WORK HERE!" Well, I am here to say, that I might work here, but I am not a slave and I do not want to clean up after people that are more than capable of doing it themselves. If that means that they have to get up a little earlier or stay up a little later then that's what needs to happen, because I am now combat fatigued and I am ready to blow!

 Another symptom of this inexcusable behavior is that now, I have no patience or sympathy for any of them. If it was an occasional slip up it would not bother me, it is the fact that the rudeness and forgetfulness is now daily and even hourly and I have no back up since my entire family is in this together. Now, in all fairness, there is a chance that maybe they just do not know where anything goes, or maybe they all have a phobia about the dishwasher, it is even possible that one of them is hoarding the toilet paper in case of an emergency. Even with that in mind, I am tired and worn out with nothing left to give. I am just shell shocked and ready for a change. I have to think this through, because I live with people that will immediately point at the other person rather than just help me out and pick up the mess, they are not even able to just see something out of place and pick that up. I am going to have to educate them first and I am not sure I am emotionally capable right now. I would prefer the tough love approach at this point, something like throwing their junk on the front lawn or not allowing them to have a glass at dinner. I will absolutely be placing a sign on the refrigerator as a warning to them though, I am in the trenches and ready for battle…WOOOO HOOOO!