"How much does he turn to you? Do you know what jobs he goes for before he goes for them? Does he tell you before he quits a job?" I get a sense of it's about to happen; his complaining is at a fever pitch, he rants and raves for literally HOURS on the phone. And then I usually get a call that he's quit and boy, are they going to rue the day that "they" ever took advantage of him, etc. Boy, it seems reading over this that he might be dealing with something bigger than just job bouncing. But I don't think he honestly has a mental issue, but maybe I'm too close to it. The thing that really bothers me, other than the constant job upheaval, is that he expects me to be his cheerleader, support, etc. Not sure how to keep being graceful in the midst of this. FWIW, it's my brother.

"With dh, I stopped sympathizing and started playing devil's advocate." with this person, I try to do more encouraging and sympathizing, because to do otherwise is very demoralizing for this person. And this person is very easily demoralized, so it ends up being a LOT of cheerleading on my part, which is getting tiresome. This person also has a very overrated sense of himself and his abilities, and applies for jobs like CEO, etc., without even having a four year degree. So I try to just encourage as far as "you're a great friend" etc, instead of focusing on the job stuff, since it is seriously so far beyond his abilities and everyone can see that but him. He's 40 now, and is still at the bottom of the barrel as far as job seniority goes. He does want to go back to school, though, so I see that as a positive step.

I appreciate the good words, Pamela. Mulling over what to say and do......if anything.

No. Nothing that's a "problem", really. Just has bounced from job to job for the last 10 years or so. I can't really figure out what the issue is, bottom line....there's always a sense of the grass is always greener and everyone else is responsible for what's going on in my life, kwim? :tongue_smilie: I'm trying to figure out how to handle this respectfully and gracefully.

Through various situations: job isn't challenging enough, job doesn't value me enough, etc. How do you encourage that person, and how do you keep from getting discouraged? Not really sure how to proceed, since this is a pattern over many years for this person. :tongue_smilie:

Yup! I try to write in it every day. See my sig for the link. :)

We would LOVE to adopt internationally or domestically, but it's the money that's getting us (trying to do that whole Dave Ramsey thing right now).

We have a biological son with lots of special needs, he's only 12, but he most likely will never be more than 5 or 6, mentally. If you have fears that your son will be unsafe, and he is the mental age of a child who can't protect himself, then you need to protect him. Go with those Mama Bear instincts. They're usually spot-on. :)

I tend to agree. Polite and kind, but it's really none of their business. :)

Done and done. :grouphug:

One of my favorite movies of all time. I saw it in college, and it really impacted me. I think it's probably suitable for ages 16 and up. VERY thought provoking!

Shoot, I think you handled it quite well. That was amazingly rude. It saddens me to hear local libraries treating their "best customers" this way. Our library is fantastic. If I could, I would spend every day, all day there. :)

My husband was an IT guy until his last job burnt him out so much that he developed life-threatening health problems and had to quit or have a heart attack. Yes, it really was that bad. So I don't really know what he does now. He *is* organizing everything within an inch of its life, so that's a positive step, I guess......:tongue_smilie: