My mother is a flake but has a good heart. She is a hypocrondrac so she has been dying for years. (My dad thinks she will out-live us all).  But she knits and crochets and does beautiful work. She is also a geneologiest and has written many geneology books (some are in the Library of Congress). I love her dearly but I love her more at a distance.  ;) After all these years, she can STILL drive me crazy.





Cat

After all these years, she can STILL drive me crazy.


That's what they're there for!!

Mothers are wonderful.  A good friend of mine has just been diagnosed with a brain tumour.  She said to me - "I'm just glad it's me and not one of the girls" (she has 3 daughters).  I was talking to her 83 year old mother during the week and she said to me "Why does it have to be one of my girls (she also has 3 daughters) - why couldn't it have been me?" :(

I love my mom and she loves me, but since my dad died in 95 she has been trying to put guilt trips on all of us. I know she is lonely and I try to encourage her to meet new people but she is so stuborn. Gets all of us kids fighting and only talking to her, until we figured out what she was doing.

My mum is 83 this year.  I thought after dad died in 2003 she might lose the plot but like your Mum, Mark, she's still going strong and is enjoying life.
I'm ssorry to hear about your father Janine, but I'm happy your Mum is still around to enjoy life with you :)

Well, my mom & dad divorced when I was 11 and that's when I moved to CA with my mom. She remarried when I was about 16 to a man who didn't like me.  My mom & step-dad moved to Oregon when I was 17 and I stayed here.  I was angry for awhile because I had to quit school to work full time, but my small income only paid my bus fare and my apartment, I had no money for anything.  I ate Top Ramen for dinner almost every night.

I am thankful now, though, because I learned how to take care of myself and I am proud of myself because I started with ZERO and now own two houses in Silicon Valley, have a good job, and a savings account =)   My mom was always a "responsibility" freak - she always taught me to be accountable for what I did.. She's the kind of person who would call the cops on me herself if she caught me shoplifting.  (Which never happened, thank god)
VERY impressive, ADH13 ;) You're a survivor and I really respect that. I lived in my car for from August through December of 1984...(Breakdown) before going to Arizona and finding an ex-girlfriend who later became my now ex wife. I still look back at those times and am glad I went through them. As for divorce....My ex and I got along really well until the early 90's...the romance left for the most part and we just coexisted and raised our 5 boys. After Blaine was murdered our friends would tell us "Be careful because the majority of parents who lose a child to murder end up divorcing." At the time we just laughed it off and said we were stronger than ever....but it turned out we weren't. It was VERY hard to get the divorce because I thought my boys would hate me but fortunately my ex moved back to Utah where she grew up and met a guy she's known in grade school. She's also with her family now after sacrificing 18 years living here in Colorado Springs so that I could be near my parent. Her mother died when Ella (my ex) was 5, in a car crash. Her father married a witch who used to look the  other way as Ella was molested by her step uncles...That's partially why I'm so passionate about Michael (Flit-Boy) Jackson getting a severe punishment for his "Alleged" abuse of children ::) Ella's father died in 1986, a year after we were married, from cancer. Anyway, my boys seehow happy mom is and seem to be doing alright for all they've been through. I feel fortunate that we stayed married as long as we did and that our boys were older....Brian, the youngest, was 14.

My Mother is sometimes odd in a way.My Father thinks she's computer illiterate but anyway,I love her to death and I'm glad she listens to me :)



Howard

I'm ssorry to hear about your father Janine, but I'm happy your Mum is still around to enjoy life with you :)


It's been the first time in her life she has ever lived alone and now she's used to it ... I think she's actually enjoying it.  I know she enjoys being in charge of the TV remote control ;D

my mom is very quirky (sorta like me...but in a different kinda way)....and she worries WAY too much about everything...but it is only because she loves us.

my mom is very quirky (sorta like me...but in a different kinda way)....and she worries WAY too much about everything...but it is only because she loves us.



She does worry too much. Drives me pretty much insane. *Nods*

She does worry too much. Drives me pretty much insane. *Nods*


...


same here.

It is funny that someone bumped this thread up because for the past couple of days, I have been thinking about my mother and wondering about getting her one of those home monitoring devices. She is 75 years old and lives alone I e-mailed all my sibs yesterday about it to see if they have any thoughts on the matter (and possibly getting one for my dad too-since he is also in his 70s and lives alone). So far, I haven't heard from any of them but I only sent the e-mail last night and they may not have read their e-mails, yet. If anyone has family members with one of these things, I would appreciate some feedback on them. Thanks.




Cat

My mother is an old  hippie and a self-proclaimed 'gypsy'. She always marched to a different drum.  It's a classic case of role reversal, where I was always the conservative , stable one and she's always been the free spirit who doesn't like to be pinned down for too long.  She and I have had our differences of opinion over the years, but as I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate her unique traits.  I can also see that some of those traits are showing up in my personality as well. She's 61 and I'll be 39 this year and I  can  imagine some of the things she must have thought when she was my age. Struggling to hang on to her youth, not wanting to get 'old' .  I always  craved a more traditional type mother as a kid, but  I know that I wouldn't be the strong female that I am today if it hadn't been for my mother's influence on me.

My mom is great, except for the times she goes on and on about my sisters kids kinda forgets that I might want her to mention some of the good things my kids do. But, I don't really think she does it on purpose. She's generous to a fault. She'll never say no to anyone, even if it means cancelling something she had planned for herself. That drives me nuts! She's never butted in to my life, always tells me she just wants me to be happy, and she supports anything I do. All in all, an awesome woman who I love like crazy!  :)

It is funny that someone bumped this thread up because for the past couple of days, I have been thinking about my mother and wondering about getting her one of those home monitoring devices. She is 75 years old and lives alone I e-mailed all my sibs yesterday about it to see if they have any thoughts on the matter (and possibly getting one for my dad too-since he is also in his 70s and lives alone). So far, I haven't heard from any of them but I only sent the e-mail last night and they may not have read their e-mails, yet. If anyone has family members with one of these things, I would appreciate some feedback on them. Thanks.




Cat




hey Cat!

I think that would be a great idea! My grandma has a home security system...but within it is also a built in home/emergency system. She has this little keychain thing that she keeps with her at all times...and whenever she would press it..she would get immediate attention. I think it is a very good thing to have for someone living alone (as she does, also)....it would be very beneficial.

I've noticed since I've gotten older my mom drops the F-bomb more often in conversation with me (not swearing at me).  I think it's F'n funny.  ;D

hey Cat!

I think that would be a great idea! My grandma has a home security system...but within it is also a built in home/emergency system. She has this little keychain thing that she keeps with her at all times...and whenever she would press it..she would get immediate attention. I think it is a very good thing to have for someone living alone (as she does, also)....it would be very beneficial.



What really disturbs me about the whole thing is that so far I have only heard from one of my sisters about this matter (she also thinks that our mother could use one but thinks Dad will think it was for "old people"  ;D ).  Either they haven't read the e-mail or they just don't care.  ::)




Cat

My mam is strict to the point where i've been brought up properly, but not to the extent that our house is a german concentration camp. She tries to be cool, but like most in her position, she fails... miserably. She comes out with some absolute gems at times... like the other week where she never heard me come in, and I walked into the kitchen and she turned and jumped, then came out with "I nearly sh*t a brick!"  ;D

Overall, she's a nice mam to have... and i'm thankful that I have her  :)

I love my mom. I know we've had our trying times, but she's still the person who'll be there for me and lend a shoulder to lean on - even if we don't always agree or have different taste in music, she's teaching me to be more tolerant of those things in order to love someone more wholly.

I don't have a Mom - orphaned at age 5.  Raised by my Grandma.  So trying to be a Mother and not a friend to my daughter has always been a challenge. I'm sure she would have lots to say about me!  My Grandma had a security system, never used it, it scared her.  She said her dog (blind, no teeth and hard of hearing) was her security system.  When she did pass away, we found her the next day, passed in her sleep, the dog had no idea we had come in or that anything was wrong, we could finally laugh about it this year.  (5 years after the fact) How I walked into the bedroom and the dog looked up all surprised and irritated that their sleep was being interrupted.  She was a great lady, missed very much.

My Mom is sometimes strict but also understanding and wants to listen and have a good conversation.She's also very passionate too. :)