Momma's Chores

I'm exhausted. Mother's Day was all about Momma's Chores.

I had a "list" of things to do when I went to my folks' house; all in the name of LOVE. My mom has been the one that has been exhausted lately. ALL THE TIME. The bags under her eyes are Serious. SERIOUS, People. And I have been worried about her crankiness, if not a victim of it to boot.

She is waiting waiting waiting for retirement, you see... 2 years away. But this woman is incessant, instoppable, CONSTANT even, in her endeavors to always "get stuff done." Shred this, organize that... there is always something next on her plate. I've seen her on Sundays, after a weekend off, and she is MORE tired than on Fridays. I told her I didn't want to see her kill herself in the process of getting to retirement, 2 years away.

SO. What's a daughter to do but ease the load? Sometimes when I help I think we live in a 3rd world country. I'm gardening and composting and hand-washing and such. And then I really think about it: granted, she's a bit obsessive about filling her time, but life for my mom is all about family. Supporting each other is What We Do. She looks after me all the time, even when I don't want her to. SO! Bring on The List, Mom, I'm ready.

The nicest thing of the weekend was that on Monday my mom called me from work to report that, besides the hectic-ness of work, she was feeling relatively stress-free.

I celebrated my success in easing her schedule by spending $300 of her hard-earned money (which is fueling the start of my new career) buying clothes for myself in a 2-hour period (don't worry folks - I received a hefty tax return a couple weeks ago, so it's not really ALL hers. Well, yeah, I guess it is). The oddest part is, when I walked to the video store tonite after coming home from the SF Decorator's Showcase party, I was 'Walking On Sunshine.' I was starting to feel good. Really good. It's weird how a new cute polka-dot skirt can change your perspective. Or was doing something for my mom the thing that did it?

Even though it's past Mother's Day now, and beside the fact that I hate celebrating commecialized holidays, I wanted to tell those who are with me that Sunday (yeah, Mother's Day) was an absolute sucess. For all of us!

PS - you're welcome, Dad.

Cheers.