Part 1
As I have already stated, I believed that circumstances with Jessica and Erin
would have turned out better if I had set clear boundaries. I was determined
not to have another problem so I made sure that Amamda knew exactly what was
expected of her. I was determined I was not going to be in anymore situations
where I felt exploited so we talked about it all. Everything I had learned from
the previous situations, I used to get it right.
Amanda not only knew up
front all the things I needed done but she knew it couldn't cost us any money
for her to be living on our property and I certainly didn't want it to be
causing us any more work. In addition to the work we discussed, she would be
required to pay her utilities including garbage and she was required to
recycle. Also since she would be using my bathroom, she was to help with its
cleaning. Even that was spelled out, twice a month it was her responsibility to
clean it. Because she only had a tiny fridge in the RV, I told her she could use
a portion of my extra fridge and she could put a few things in its freezer but
she must clean up after herself and respect our needs. Nothing was left unsaid,
even keeping her areas cleaned and orderly was discussed. I did not intend to
have anyone disrespecting my things or my property again so when I thought of
something we hadn't covered, I brought it up and we had months to get this
right.
We talked about her dog and cat. The cat was supposed to be an
indoor cat so that wasn't supposed to be a problem. I told her dog must be
cleaned up after immediately because I did not want nor need to be cleaning up
after another dog and I sure didn't want to be stepping in dog poop. Amanda
insisted this all went without saying but I wasn't taking anymore chances. I
made sure we talked about it all.
She asked about the location where her
motor-home would need to be parked inconspicuously so it didn't detract from my
farm or the horses. We talked about the possibility of it being parked near the
house but if that didn't work there was a place across from the barns. She
would purchase a privacy screen to assure it was hidden. She even sent me links
to the site she intended to purchase this screen from so I could choose an
appropriate color that would blend with its surroundings. She claimed she didn't
want her presence here to be a problem in any way.
Since we were already
talking about the effect of the farm looking rundown, this conversation made
sense. A big older RV parked helter skelter could quickly make an old farm look
worse. It was an important consideration but in reality it was just another part
of her ruse. Amanda didn't do anything once she was here that showed she cared
about anyone's needs but hers.
I believed I had learned much from the
other exploitations so the boundaries were clearly set. The only problem with
that is setting boundaries alone is no protection from those who take advantage
of others. Such people know how to work their way in and then they do exactly as
they please and that is exactly how it went with Amanda. She was definitely all
talk and nothing I could have said or done would've made this turn out
differently, except of course never allowing her on my property in the first
place.
Sometime during Erin's stay, Amanda began talking about having a
boyfriend in the Midwest. Next I heard he was coming to visit in August for his
birthday. The ink was barely dry on her divorce papers so it seemed to me this
was a lot in a very short amount of time but Amanda said they had been online
friends for a couple of years. To me it made no sense....but it certainly would
later.
Soon Amanda's pitch of all that could be done for me began to
include Darryl. He is not a horse person but he would be able to assist her with
the work. She claimed he was a computer geek and he would fix my computer and
he could help me get my website updated......more promises never
met.
Darryl arrived in August and Amanda promptly got pregnant. Of course
I wasn't told that at first. Actually I really was not told it at all. I
discovered she was pregnant and then confronted her about it. At first she
claimed that wouldn't affect our arrangement.
Darryl quit his job at
Walmart to come to see Amanda. He had no driver's license because he forgot to
renew it before he left and he was broke so he was living with Amanda who also
had no job. He is considerably younger than her and she is definitely the alpha
in this relationship. Darryl does what Amanda says, nothing more but definitely
less if he can get away with it.
Right from his arrival, Amanda was
pushing to move here. She complained the living conditions on the other farm
were growing worse. Then once the pregnancy was out in the open, Amanda couldn't
wait to come here because that other farm was not a safe place to raise her
baby.
I wanted to know she was going to do the work but she was pushing
stall cleaning for Darryl when she had been clearly told for months that stall
cleaning was not what the offer had been. Every time she brought it up I
reminded her my horses needed grooming and turnouts and the farm needed repairs
and that was our deal. Amanda heard what she wanted. I believe she had no
intentions of doing anything with the horses or the farm. I think she decided in
her mind what should be enough for parking her RV on my farm but she didn't tell
me she had decided on less than she had promised. She deliberately withheld it,
just as she's left out so many details along the way. Whether that worked for me
was not her concern. She wanted to be away from the hoarder's place and I think
she wanted people to know she was here because she thought it would give her
credibility. Just like Crystal Baker, she traded on my name.
I could see
the writing on the wall before she ever got here I was not the one who wanted
Amanda here once Darryl entered the scene and Amanda got pregnant. Dave and
Lindsay wanted to believe that Amanda was sincere and she did a pretty good job
of working us against each other. By the time Amanda and Darryl moved here the
only one recognizing the truth was me and I was too sick to fight my husband
over this so I went along hoping I was wrong but terrified I was
right.
Are you groaning yet?
To be continued.......
Moving In........ Another Nightmare Begins Thanks to Amanda
.
not groaning , just a big sad sigh
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I am groaning once again. This time you could see the writing on the wall. Too bad you were out voted ad gad to deal with another user.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm groaning, mainly because I can't believe the situations young girls get themselves (and their babies) into.
ReplyDelete