Son in law's strange obsession is causing problems. What to do?
My son in law is absolutely obsessed with firewood. To the point that he's making an embarrassment of himself. A few examples: - My daughter confided in me that he's not performing in the bedroom because he "doesn't want to injure" himself in any way because he "wouldn't be able to cut a truckload of firewood."
- For my birthday, my daughter and son in law took me on a drive to the old family farm I grew up on, which is now abandoned. During the ENTIRE trip, my son in law talked CONSTANTLY about firewood, and as we walked about the old property, he asked me seven times who now owns the farm because "there is so much wood here that could be cut." As we drove to and from, he kept talking about fallen trees along the road and how he wished he had his chain saw with him to cut a truckload of firewood."
- My daughter had what is called a "pampered chef" party and as my son in law would let the guests in the front door, he would introduce himself and then ask how they heat their homes and if they said "natural gas" or "electric" he would give a 2 minute talk about burning firewood.
- When my daughter and son in law hosted the family reunion in October, he made all of us walk to his woodshed. He has enough firewood in there to last for 20 years, but said he had to get more because "next winter is coming, too."
- My daughter and son in law used to be very important members of the community, attending town council meetings, and my son in law was a member of my lodge. They have had to stop so my son in law has more time to cut firewood.
- They had a beautiful rec-room in their basement, but my son in law cleared it out so he could stack firewood in it floor to ceiling. This is a 12 X 12 room with an eight-foot ceiling.
- Finally, he skipped his daughter's birthday party because he saw an add in the newspaper for free firewood an hour and a half from their home. He loaded his truck down so badly that it broke the axle and actually rented a U-Haul truck to get the firewood back to their home.
He is becoming an absolute embarrassment to the family and the community. They heat their home with a coal and wood furnace and a natural gas furnace. I haven't had a chance to talk this over with him because every time I visit, he's either gone (off cutting a truckload of firewood) or he's out in the back yard splitting it and putting it in the woodshed, which now stretches the entire length of their acre-long property, and he's even talking about adding a second floor!
What can we do to curb this obsession with firewood?
My son in law is absolutely obsessed with firewood. To the point that he's making an embarrassment of himself. A few examples: - My daughter confided in me that he's not performing in the bedroom because he "doesn't want to injure" himself in any way because he "wouldn't be able to cut a truckload of firewood."
- For my birthday, my daughter and son in law took me on a drive to the old family farm I grew up on, which is now abandoned. During the ENTIRE trip, my son in law talked CONSTANTLY about firewood, and as we walked about the old property, he asked me seven times who now owns the farm because "there is so much wood here that could be cut." As we drove to and from, he kept talking about fallen trees along the road and how he wished he had his chain saw with him to cut a truckload of firewood."
- My daughter had what is called a "pampered chef" party and as my son in law would let the guests in the front door, he would introduce himself and then ask how they heat their homes and if they said "natural gas" or "electric" he would give a 2 minute talk about burning firewood.
- When my daughter and son in law hosted the family reunion in October, he made all of us walk to his woodshed. He has enough firewood in there to last for 20 years, but said he had to get more because "next winter is coming, too."
- My daughter and son in law used to be very important members of the community, attending town council meetings, and my son in law was a member of my lodge. They have had to stop so my son in law has more time to cut firewood.
- They had a beautiful rec-room in their basement, but my son in law cleared it out so he could stack firewood in it floor to ceiling. This is a 12 X 12 room with an eight-foot ceiling.
- Finally, he skipped his daughter's birthday party because he saw an add in the newspaper for free firewood an hour and a half from their home. He loaded his truck down so badly that it broke the axle and actually rented a U-Haul truck to get the firewood back to their home.
He is becoming an absolute embarrassment to the family and the community. They heat their home with a coal and wood furnace and a natural gas furnace. I haven't had a chance to talk this over with him because every time I visit, he's either gone (off cutting a truckload of firewood) or he's out in the back yard splitting it and putting it in the woodshed, which now stretches the entire length of their acre-long property, and he's even talking about adding a second floor!
What can we do to curb this obsession with firewood?
or skip any birthdays, but wished I had my chainsaw many times. I think we can all relate to some extent.
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