When my husband gave me a scary ultimatum, he didn’t expect me to stand up for myself and our children. The lesson I taught him showed him how unreasonable he was being when we already had so much to be grateful for. His ultimatum ended with him begging ME for mercy!
I never thought I’d be in this position, but here I am, standing at a crossroads. I was pushed to take drastic measures when my spouse pushed me into a corner with one demand. But that demand was enough to get me to act.
My husband, Danny, has always been a devoted father and a successful businessman. He’s provided well for our family and spends lots of time at the office. This has given me the freedom to be a stay-at-home mother and raise the five beautiful daughters we already share.
But lately, his dreams of having a son “to carry on the family name” have turned into demands. And those demands have morphed into threats!
“Lisa, we NEED to have a sixth child,” he said one night after dinner. His tone was serious, almost cold.
“Danny, we already have FIVE daughters. You want me to keep having babies until we get a son?” I replied, feeling the tension rise.
“But aren’t children a blessing to you? Is it really that hard?” His words stung. We’ve had this argument many times before, but this time it felt different. It felt like an ultimatum. We continued going round in circles with neither of us willing to relent on their choices.
Our argument escalated to the point where he hinted that he might consider DIVORCING me if I refused to have a son for him! “Are you saying you’d leave me if I don’t give you a son?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“I didn’t say THAT,” he muttered, looking away. But the implication was clear. He was willing to consider divorce if I didn’t follow HIS wishes. That was the end of our argument as we went our separate ways in preparation for bed.
That night, I lay awake, thinking about our conversation. How could he be so dismissive of the life we’d built together? Our daughters are amazing, each one unique and full of life. I couldn’t imagine our family any other way.
I needed to make him understand what he was asking of me, of us. And you know what? Before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep, I decided on a cunning way to SHOW him EXACTLY what it meant to raise five children ALONE!
The very next day, I woke up extra early while everyone was still fast asleep. I packed a bag and drove to my late mother’s old country house. I turned off my phone’s ringer and ignored all his calls and texts.