Taking Care of Mom

The last 10 days have been pretty hectic for me.  As some of you may be aware, my mother was recently released from her incarceration in Virginia.  Naturally, I was the destination for her release paperwork—partly by default, partly by the inaction of other family members. 

Needless to say, this has been pretty disruptive on a variety of levels.  Those of you who know me well know how much of a creature of routine I am.  Having that routine disrupted can be good sometimes—girlfriends or significant others—and it can sometimes be bad—parents or in-laws.  In my case, my mother has been a disruptive presence. 

She has been helping out around the house, and I have tried to take care of those various things she needs to get done as she returns to a normal life.  These include running her around to various after-care sites, social service agencies, and other similar destinations.  Now that my travel is done—Boston for the Beanpot.  I may commit to spending some time on these other tasks. 

It is strange having someone else in the house.  I am really accustomed to coming home to an empty house for me.  Instead, I now have a guest.  Add to that the fact that I am now feeding two people, and I am shocked at how fast things that last much longer in my house are gone: milk, sugar, and some other items just to name a few.  Additionally, I had to change my phone plan to accommodate my mother’s need to make phone calls.  I am going to have to get my mother out of here quickly just so my food and telephone costs go down. 

The frustrating thing about this whole situation is how everyone on my mother’s side of the family defaulted to me.  No one else “stepped up to the plate,” and I have to admit to being incredibly angry about the current state of affairs.  Everyone sees fit to bother me on the day of her release or to call here for her, but I will be damned if they are going to help me in this situation.  Instead, I get the disruption of effectively caring for a parent in my home when I had no intention to do such at this point in my life.  I may sound as though I am being selfish, but I really value my time.  Having to spend my personal time playing the way-station for my family is not how I want to spend my time. 

At the end of the day, I need to do what is in my and my mother’s interest to get her back to independent living.  At the same time, I need to do it as fast as I can to be able to function both personally and professionally.