| The short answer to your
question:
You
Are Being Abused What's
going on is that you're being abused and taken advantage of, and it needs to stop.
There are two reasonable
ways for this to happen: either he changes his ways, or you leave. To
relate specifically to each of your points: Teenagers
Rarely Listen All
13-year-olds (going all the way up through 16-17 and sometimes beyond) think they're
grown and don't have to listen to their parents. That's where discipline and boundaries
come in, but that takes work and effort from both parents if they're around. I
can't teach you how to raise your son, especially now that he's 13, but that's
not your primary problem anyway... Give
Away Some Pets The
pets... also not the primary problem, but there's an easy way to reduce the load
there: give some away for adoption. The rat you may have trouble unloading, but
I'm sure your local pet store will be willing to help.
 Your
husband's a sorry excuse for a mate
Now
to your main issue: your husband. It would have been somewhat unfair of me to
judge him just based on your description, but luckily we got his side of the story
too. All he did was dig himself deeper into the hole you put him in. He's a sorry
excuse for a mate, and a shameful example of a Man. Marriage
is a partnership Marriage
is not about "putting a roof over someone's head and food in their stomach,"
it's supposed to be a partnership where people support and nurture each other.
Being a father IS about listening to your child and hearing about his day even
if you've had a long day yourself. Your husband's attitude is sickening, and frankly
I'm not optimistic about the "king's" prospects for ever understanding
any of these things, but I feel obligated to suggest counseling for the lot of
you before I recommend anything else.
Move
on If he adamantly
refuses to go to counseling, you need to very seriously and carefully examine
your options for becoming a free agent again, if you'll pardon the metaphor. Whatever
his reasons are for acting the way he does (and there may be very sympathy-inducing
conditions in his past), there's no excuse for his behavior. Plenty of people
grew up in difficult conditions and became better people for it. He's squandered
that opportunity, and he's dragging you down with him - he's got no right to do
that, and you have every right to be treated as a human being. Move up, or move
on! Mensch | 
