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       #Post#: 20636--------------------------------------------------
       Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Despedina Date: December 3, 2018, 4:05 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       My family has been having trouble getting in touch with BIL for
       a while now. He is a "traveling" nurse which means every 3
       months he chooses a new hospital to work for. Right now he's at
       a hospital about 4 hrs away, so we don't see him much. Actually,
       we've not actually seen him and his Fiance since June when my
       MIL paid for a big family vacation.  At the beginning of Nov he
       told my MIL he would not be coming to Thanksgiving or Christmas.
       According to MIL he showed up the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The
       only communication we have had is the fiancé emailing my DH
       (group email) asking everyone to have their wedding clothes
       chosen within 6 mos (this was early Oct) and when DH responded,
       BIL called back to say that he and fiancé were coming up with a
       group order for the groomsmen.
       DH has tried to reach out to BIL again with no response. On
       Saturday, my son wanted to call BIL to invite him to his
       crossover from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.  We told son that his
       uncle probably wouldn't be able to make it but he could invite
       him if he liked. Son also wanted to speak to his uncle as he
       hasn't seen or spoken to him since June.  Son left a message
       from my husband's phone asking BIL to please call back
       regardless.  No response.
       We saw MIL yesterday and she mentioned that BIL had come the
       Sunday after Thanksgiving and I mentioned we hadn't heard from
       BIL and that son was waiting on a return phone call. MIL sighed
       and shook her head.  I was like "what?" She said that BIL does
       not keep his phone. We were confused by this as he doesn't have
       a home phone and where was he leaving it? Was he not allowed to
       have it at work. She said no that Fiance keeps his phone and
       they 'trade phones' every day which MIL could not explain.
       Anytime she wants to talk to him she has to wait until he calls
       her back because he doesn't keep his phone.
       I'm wondering if I should message Fiance on facebook and ask her
       to have BIL call my DH and son.  DH is not FB friends with her.
       I'm a little concerned she doesn't want BiL calling us. When we
       were on vacation and his phone would ring she would run up to
       him and put her head against his head and listen before either
       knew who it was. It was really strange.  They do have a wedding
       coming up (10/2019) and their "clothes deadline" coming up in
       the spring so DH will need to speak with him.
       So should I message her or just let this play out? It almost
       sounds like one of those Hallmark movies where the Fiance is
       crazy possessive right now lol. I hope I'm really wrong.
       On another note even though they've announced they're not coming
       for the holidays, they are having a big shindig for "family &
       friends" this weekend (in her hometown not far from where we
       live) which none of BIL's family was invited to which adds to my
       concern that she doesn't want BIL's family around.
       #Post#: 20642--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Hanna Date: December 3, 2018, 6:08 pm
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       Hmmm. Perplexing!
       Does his fiancé live with him while he’s traveling around? What
       kind of shifts does he work?
       Does she work? How long have they been together?
       How is the relationship between BIL and his Mom? (Could he be
       avoiding her calls, with this cellphone switching routine?)
       How do you know about the big shindig?
       #Post#: 20644--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Dazi Date: December 3, 2018, 6:15 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Hanna link=topic=853.msg20642#msg20642
       date=1543882101]
       Hmmm. Perplexing!
       Does his fiancé live with him while he’s traveling around? What
       kind of shifts does he work?
       Does she work? How long have they been together?
       How is the relationship between BIL and his Mom? (Could he be
       avoiding her calls, with this cellphone switching routine?)
       How do you know about the big shindig?
       [/quote]
       If he's a travel nurse, minimum shifts are typically 12 hrs.
       7a-7p or 7p-7a, but reality is, they often work 14-16 hours. If
       he works the night shift, it is totally plausible she fields
       calls for him. Nothing rages a night nurse more than being woken
       up during the day when they are trying to sleep.
       #Post#: 20647--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Hanna Date: December 3, 2018, 6:45 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Dazi link=topic=853.msg20644#msg20644
       date=1543882537]
       [quote author=Hanna link=topic=853.msg20642#msg20642
       date=1543882101]
       Hmmm. Perplexing!
       Does his fiancé live with him while he’s traveling around? What
       kind of shifts does he work?
       Does she work? How long have they been together?
       How is the relationship between BIL and his Mom? (Could he be
       avoiding her calls, with this cellphone switching routine?)
       How do you know about the big shindig?
       [/quote]
       If he's a travel nurse, minimum shifts are typically 12 hrs.
       7a-7p or 7p-7a, but reality is, they often work 14-16 hours. If
       he works the night shift, it is totally plausible she fields
       calls for him. Nothing rages a night nurse more than being woken
       up during the day when they are trying to sleep.
       [/quote]
       That’s what I suspected. I don’t think it’s unusual if his
       schedule is that tough that it takes him a while to return calls
       and he doesn’t want his Mom calling him while he’s working or
       trying to sleep.
       #Post#: 20653--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Hmmm Date: December 3, 2018, 7:01 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I won't speculate on why your BIL is not keeping his phone.
       That's just odd behavior unless he has cheated on her before.
       But to answer your question, yes I would message her on FB
       explaining that your son is awaiting a call from his uncle and
       would she be so kind as to encourage him to call your son back.
       #Post#: 20669--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Aleko Date: December 4, 2018, 1:31 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote]. . . it is totally plausible she fields calls for him.
       Nothing rages a night nurse more than being woken up during the
       day when they are trying to sleep.[/quote]
       Well, in principle yes: but she doesn't seem to be fielding
       calls for him, does she? Also, I totally get that he wouldn't
       want to answer the phone when he's trying to sleep, but if he
       just turned his phone off then and told his family and friends
       'if my phone is off when you call, that means I'm asleep after a
       night shift - just message me and I'll get back to you' there
       would be no problem, whereas handing over his phone to his
       fiancée just creates one. (Also, without his phone how does he
       contact her to let her know if he's going to be late home, or
       ask her if she can pick up his dry cleaning?) Together with the
       anecdote of her routinely listening in to find who's calling
       him, this does sound like a rather creepy set-up.
       #Post#: 20678--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Jem Date: December 4, 2018, 7:39 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Yeah, I know quite a few people who are capable of managing
       whether they are woken up by phone calls or texts or emails by
       either turning off their phone or turning off the ringer. The
       fiancé has a monopoly on red flags.
       I would never want to be with someone like the fiancé. But,
       apparently the BIL has chosen to be with her.
       I think the OP is going to have to accept that BIL is not going
       to be in her family’s life how she wants him to be.
       #Post#: 20680--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: DaDancingPsych Date: December 4, 2018, 7:45 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I certainly see some things that are concerning... but I also
       see some plausible explanations. Yes, I would message Fiance to
       see if she is able (and willing) to assist. It is very possible
       that she is frustrated by the lack of communication, too, and
       this could be the start to assisting BIL with putting together a
       better system. I think that Fiance's response may be somewhat
       telling and at least you have a better idea of the situation at
       hand.
       #Post#: 20684--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Bada Date: December 4, 2018, 9:00 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       OP says they swap phones back and forth. So she's not just
       handling his while he's sleeping, she's actively trying to keep
       him from having a dedicated phone of his own.
       I think it's a great idea to contact her through FB on behalf of
       your son. Are they both invited to the ceremony? Uncle is more
       likely to be able to come if she is. You could also apologize
       for using this method of contact and ask what the best way is to
       reach Uncle. The answer might be very informative.  (Your mom
       says they swap phones so she never knows which to call him on.
       Does she ever just call every phone, hoping to get the right one
       by chance?)
       #Post#: 20685--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Trying to get hold of BIL but his fiance keeps his phone
       By: Despedina Date: December 4, 2018, 9:05 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Hanna link=topic=853.msg20642#msg20642
       date=1543882101]
       Hmmm. Perplexing!
       Does his fiancé live with him while he’s traveling around?
       What kind of shifts does he work?
       Does she work? How long have they been together?
       How is the relationship between BIL and his Mom? (Could he be
       avoiding her calls, with this cellphone switching routine?)
       How do you know about the big shindig?
       [/quote]
       Yes, she lives with him while he travels. She does not work.
       They have been together about 2.5-3 yrs at this point.  BIL and
       his mom had a very close relationship (he's the baby and he was
       born 14 yrs after his nearest in age sibling).   About the
       shindig, I only know about it because she posted on facebook
       tagging everyone who hadn't told her what they were bringing as
       far as food.  I asked MIL if she was invited and she said no.
       Someone asked how he gets a hold of his Fiance when he's at
       work. MIL said they TRADE phones. So he doesn't keep his own but
       he keeps hers. It doesn't make any sense but she is able to get
       hold of him. None of us have Fiance's phone number.  As far as
       his shift, right now he works 7am - 7pm so days for this
       assignment.
       I do keep seeing red flags and have tried to get to know her
       hoping I'm misinterpreting but she doesn't seem interested. My
       daughter who is 21 hung out with them during vacation more than
       anyone last summer and said that her behavior seemed really
       controlling but I wasn't there to witness it. I was hoping that
       they'd come around during the holidays so I could get to know
       her but that won't be happening.
       Yes both are invited to the ceremony for my Son.
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