Quote From: trinket I used to be you...
I used to take responsiblity for every aspect of our lives together. LItterally, all he had to do was get up and go to work... I took care of it all. I even joined a group to figure out how to manage my time better...I had a schedule around my husbands naps... I kid you not.. and he worked during the day... I got a job at night.. I worked at night, took care of our son during the day..and my son's father could not be bothered to get our son ready for school. I did it all from meals to car maintenance, I paid all the bills...wow.
I'll tell you what, the best thing I ever did was leave that Joke.. Truly. within a few months of my escape, he actually called me to tell him where the DMV was in his town... and I lived 125 miles away. I have to deal with him because of our son, but compared to the way my life USED to be.. just like yours... I wouldn't go back if you promised me the Lottery... No way.
Someone posted that you need to make him get himself out of bed, and make his own lunch... I am 100% behind that idea. You dont have 3 kids, you have 4... one of them is your husband.
Put some money away... I got really good at hiding it in books, and pockets of clothing... they spend it like water...and just know-- it only gets worse. By the time I was ready to leave, my ex was attacking our child, and could not even be bothered to feed him or put him to bed. I came home from patrol to find our then 3 year old son up at 4 am, (I was on a break, and I would go check on my kid ) to find him fully dressed eating hot dogs and watching cartoons. It was a mess.
Make a plan, get out...Save yourself and your children.
I am now in a new marriage, with 2 great kids,(we had a daughter) and my ex got himself a girlfriend who is a mental case. More power to him. I have 80/20 custody of my son-- and Im in school for a new career. Why, I have even been to the Grand Canyon... my life is full and happy now. It's much better on the other side of that fence... Let me tell you. They just get more hateful, and god forbid they figure out your plans to leave him. No one wins. Save your kids.
That is awesome what you did and it takes a lot of courage, I can tell you from my own experiences which were pretty different but yet similar. I now embrace the value of feminism and being a feminist. As woman we should take a stand for ourselves and our children. I wanted to pursue this value further, but was unable to find it in either mainstream society or politics. Where I did find it was in the Green Party as one of their core values and have embraced this value along with other values and created a better life for myself. Your absoluetly correct-save yourself and save your children.