Apparently, verbal abuse I receive from Sybil is all my fault. If only I had (fill in the blank), I would not have forced Sybil to say mean and awful things to me.
On December 10, 2012, Sybil said, "I have to work with stupid." She was referring to me. When she said this statement, I had nearly completed closing of the day at our office...as she requested I do. Apparently, she did not mean for me to actually complete the closing...just get it ready to be complete. Since she wasn't ready, she totally freaked out, yelled at me, and then told the kids that reason we have to work late is because, "I have to work with stupid."
Today, things are at a standstill. I have told Sybil that her behavior was unacceptable, that she was abusive to me in front our children, and that she went beyond the boundary. Throughout all of this she maintains that her comment was made because of what I did. If I had understood that she didn't mean for me to totally close out the day...only get it ready to be closed out, then she would never have said that. Basically, it is all of my fault.
Do I think verbal abuse is on the same plane as physical? No. Physical abuse can lead to permanent injuries and even death, so there is no way they are on the same plane. However, years of verbal abuse lead to other problems.
It doesn't matter, really. What matters is that Sybil feels that she can talk to me in any way she wants at any time she wants. While I understand people lose their cool which causes them to say and do things they would not normally do, people must at least be apologetic. No apology is forthcoming because it is all of my fault.
I think that when the youngest son leaves home that will be that. That will be in less that 5 years.
The demand of the loveless and the self-imprisoned that they should be allowed to blackmail the universe: that till they consent to be happy (on their own terms) no one else shall taste joy: that theirs should be the final power; that Hell should be able to veto Heaven. The Great Divorce. C.S. Lewis
