Sunday, October 19, 2014 

I always hated living with my mother. This is the woman who would tear up my math homework because she didn’t think it was neat enough. This is the woman who would ask you to take a dust rag with you when you went downstairs so that you could dust the banister. This is the same woman who never appreciated anything you accomplished—piano, languages, you name it—unless it had something to do with cleaning.

This morning, I lost it completely with hardly any provocation. Mom called several times. Several times, I lied about the time, but she eventually got up anyhow. She was brushing her teeth in the bathroom when I walked in.

Look at this mirror. It’s all dirty.

It isn’t dirty. It’s streaked and I cannot clean it now. The sun is shining on it.

Here, let me clean it. (Mom used her dirty napkin.)

No! Give me that damned thing. It’s dirty.

It is not!

Yes, it is. You cannot clean a mirror in the sun! (I took the mirror off the wall and brought it into the kitchen. End of problem.)

I gave her a shower, using sturdy paper towels and clean dog towels. I am through with putting good towels in bleach to clean them and ruin them in the process. Mom is now sharing the towels I keep for Valentino. I wash them separately and fold them neatly. It’s the best I can do.

But today, mom is on a cleaning kick. I fed her breakfast. Usually, she sits quietly afterward. Today, she decided to wash her dish. Fine. She wiped off the counter with a sponge and dried it. I will rewash the dish later. Declining coffee and toast, she repaired to her bedroom to watch television, where she asked when Rob would make her bed. I told her he was still sleeping and would get to it later, but she insisted upon making the bed now. So she did and I helped her.

Mom is now watching “Family Feud” as she does every single day. I turn the sound off and she doesn’t seem to notice the difference. She mainly watches the screen and the answers as they come up on the board. One of my definitions of hell: a place where you would be subjected to hearing “SURVEY SAYS…” for eternity!

Maybe the lack of sleep from the night before has shortened my patience even more! I may not be making a scad of money at the winery, but at least I am out of the house 3 days a week. Am off to church in a bit. Trust me, I don’t feel I belong there today after how I acted this morning. But I did get the mirror clean, I did shower mom and feed her cereal, I did help her make her bed. I just have to be careful that I don’t react too wildly to the buttons she pushes.

I will leave her to Steve Harvey and “Family Feud” this windy Sunday morning and keep my distance until I cool down.