Dinner with Mom

So I cooked dinner for my Mom last night.  I made Rack of Lamb, mashed potatoes, mushrooms sautéed in red wine and spices, and steamed vegetables.  I would’ve done polenta, but she doesn’t like it (and accused me of eating healthy…duh!). 

So in she comes, a little late, and after sitting down and me providing her with a glass of wine, asks if she can spend the night.  Uh Oh…a second night with unplanned guests? Yeah, not thrilled about that.  This woman has packed an overnight bag with her Jammies in it.  Well, couldn’t you have called first and asked?

In case you haven’t noticed my Mom and I have a tenuous relationship.  It isn’t the typical “Mother/Daughter” relationship in that I’ve always been the “Mom” and she’s always been the “Daughter”. This has caused many issues because at the few times she’s wanted to pull the “Mom” card, I just couldn’t let her. You’re either a Mom, or you’re not.  It makes our relationship somewhat strained now.  I think she’s secretly relieved that my MIL isn’t around anymore because she always considered her competition.  Actually, there was no competition…I completely respected my MIL and adored her.  And she fit into the Mom role that I always wanted filled.

My Mom is a big believer in the spirit world and has always had spirits follow her since she was little.  I used to be skeptical about this until my own run-ins with her spirits (they don’t like me very much). However, she tends to go over the top and last night was no exception.  She talked about her surveillance cameras capturing the spirit globes floating in her house and showed me footage on her phone. She’s afraid of being possessed by spirits (she says she’s been possessed before) and is trying to figure out how to get rid of them. After 60+ years of dealing with spirits, you’d figure she’d find a way to co-exist with them.  It’s one of those…if you can’t beat em..join em things.

I have a difficult time with this topic because I don’t know how to respond to it.  Just like her rhetoric of the Hells Angels always breaking into her crib and taking things. I try and use logic, but it never works, i.e.  “why, out of all of the people in this world, would the HA’s target you?  What makes you so important?” Never works though.

I do love my Mom, but she’ll always be a girl…never a woman. And I get that her childhood trauma basically forged this aspect of her life, but I know that I’ll be picking up the pieces till the day she dies…unless I go first. This is the main reason why I’m so analytical, why I critique every detail and beat it to death.  I’m getting better though.

We watched a little tv and then I set up the futon for her and off to sleep we went.  I didn’t sleep well and had a strange dream about being at the Cowboys parents’ house and his Pop was giving me a hard time about liking his Son.  It was funny, but I ended up waking up about 2:30 and not being able to go back to sleep.  I made us some coffee and got ready for work. 

Last item of Note:  I signed up for Tough Mudder Tahoe, so now I'm committed! I have from now to August 16th to get my ass into shape, build up my upper body and kick some ass, or Tough Mudder will be kicking mine!!!