Dear Cary,
My husband and I are a professional couple in our mid-30s who have a house in a revitalized urban area in North Carolina. Since we moved into our house four years ago, my husband's uncle -- let's call him Uncle Danny -- has started visiting us in his R.V. for increasingly longer visits -- the last one being four months! A little background on Uncle Danny. He is a traveling nurse in his mid-60s. He has never been married and was estranged from most of his family for many years, only remaking contact in the last five years. When Uncle Danny visits us, he expects to use my husband's spare pickup truck -- he takes the key from the rack and helps himself. He also helps himself to the food and beverages in our kitchen, never buying his own groceries during his interminable stays. He almost always invites himself along when my husband and I go out to dinner and never picks up his own check. I would faint if he ever offered to treat us! He does sleep in his R.V., but the rest of the time he's with us in our house. When pressed as to how long he will be staying during each of these "visits," he always gives some vague answer. We never know when he's leaving until a day or two before he goes.
The real rub is that my husband allows this behavior and refuses to set limits with his uncle. My husband is pretty passive and detests confrontation. This year, Uncle Danny has been here from January through mid-April. He left for a few weeks to do some short-term nursing work in Northern Virginia and returned to our home on May 15. I am furious! I've insisted that my husband address this issue, and although my husband agrees that his uncle's behavior is unacceptable, he is dragging his feet about approaching Uncle Danny with some limits.
My question is, how do I handle this situation? I am a generous person by nature and do not like the spite and anger that Uncle Danny inspires in me. I also do not like the stress he is creating in my marriage. But I also realize that it is not my place to deal with Uncle Danny directly. What should I do? How do I get rid of this man?
Tired of Being Mooched off of
Dear Tired of Being Mooched off of,
Contrary to what you say, I think it is your place to deal with Uncle Danny. It is your house. If your husband won't do it, it's up to you.
Why your husband won't or can't do it and what that means about his character and his relationship with his family are something you may want to explore with him when you have a spare year or two to spend fighting like cats and dogs. But right now something needs to be done about Uncle Danny's Ticonderoga, and you need to step in and do it.
Sometimes things just have to be said out loud and somebody has to say them. "You're fired" is one of those things. "You have to leave" is another one. "I want a divorce," "I'm breaking up with you" and "I'm resigning effective today" are others, bursting with import and significance but simple in their utterance. You just have to say the thing that has to be said and let it hang there in the air long enough to be heard and understood.
I know what happens when we overcontemplate these things. We look for ways to soften it. That's fine. You can try to be kind about it. Just don't let that process of looking for a nice way to say it prevent you from saying it. You certainly don't have to be mean. Don't let your welled-up anger spill out in spiteful little ways. But you have to say what needs to be said.
This thing you're conveying is not really your fault. You're just conveying the truth; you're just looking at the situation and saying, here is the way it is. It's not about you and your feelings; it's about the household and the way it needs to be run.
It's your job to set the rules in your household and enforce them. If you don't do that, you're not really running a household, you're just occupying a house.
Tell Uncle Danny that your household has some rules and that from now on he will have to abide by them. The rules cover the length of his stays, the amount of notice he gives before he arrives and departs, and the general running of the household.
Set a limit on how long he can stay. You might have a certain time in mind; a month might be a good maximum, but you might want to limit it to two weeks, or even one week.
Tell Uncle Danny that while he is visiting you expect him to contribute to the household. That might mean paying for groceries and meals and also helping out with chores.
Family has its privileges, of course, but with privileges come responsibilities and reciprocity.
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