A Thankless Job

On Sunday my mom came by to give us some redecorating advice. We went furniture shopping and discount-department-store shopping to Marshalls, HomeGoods, Value City, etc. and finally picked a bit of a design theme. We bought a few choice items, which A surprised me by arranging after we dropped him off. It was a great time that was nearly ruined by a nasty phone call from my aunt (my niece's babysitter) to my mom.

My aunt decided she wanted to go out to dinner and my mom was running late, so she FLIPPED OUT and yelled at my mom. My mother had told my aunt that she was leaving Chicago at 4:30, which meant she would be back to pick her up around 5:45. We got four or five phone calls IN A ROW from my aunt, and when I picked up, she was livid. She apparently expected my mom to be back there at 4:30, and now it was 5:15 and she was just leaving. Then she created this whole story about how it was illegal to travel with my 7-year-old niece without a carseat, so they couldn't possibly bring her along with them to go out to dinner. It was bullshit.

She NEVER gets a break. My mom watches my cousin Breanna all the time, even when she doesn't have time. They take her to dinner and cater to her ridiculously infurtiating pickiness. No one ever does Mom a favor without making her feel really guilty on purpose, and it makes me mad. EVERY time my mom comes over there's some sort of drama at home that makes her have to leave nearly in tears (or, like last night, actually in tears). It kills me how everyone treats her. No one respects her, appreciates what she does, offers her help. She has to beg for anyone to help her out with C, and god forbid she WANTS to do something, like come down and spend the day with us. It inevitably causes chaos to the point where I'm hesitant to invite her down. She either has to drag C along where she doesn't want to go (nevermind that C always gets VERY carsick on the drive down to Chicago) and where she's in the way, or she gets a guilt trip about leaving her with someone, even my brother. It's so unfair.

I love when C comes to visit, and there's a time and place for that, but it just doesn't work for a long day of shopping or hanging artwork on the walls. I want more than anything for my mom to just get a break for once.