Mommy Dearest

I did it. I survived another visit with my mom. I've been trying really hard to figure out exactly what it is about that rubs me so wrong. She seems to make comments that dig at herself to get reassuring comments back that tell her that she isn't what she said. For example, she was complaining that my brother never emails, calls, or returns her calls. Then she says that 'it's probably because all I do is embarass him.' Well, that is why, but when she said that, I didn't say, 'Of course not, *insert lame excuse here*.' I just let her comment hang.

Also, usually she is always complementive of the way that E and I handle Dani. But this time, she told E, jokingly, that he sure did want Dani to do a lot of things. Like hold her fork correctly, and eat her dinner, and do her homework. She also didn't seem to grasp that we have Dani on a schedule and especially since we have soccer, school, and homework, we have to stick with it. Dani wanted Gramma to give her a bath every night and usually Dani had to wait 10 minutes or so because she was finishing a game on her computer.

She found out that we are in counseling. I told E that I didn't want her to know, but he didn't want to lie, so he said we had an appt. I told her it was fine and we have resolved our issue, but I've discovered that I have some other issues with anxiety and OCD. Then, to E, at some point she says that she doesn't see why I am so surprised that I am OCD because I've always wanted things perfect.

She loves to fill my ear with the toils of my sisters' childraising and how unprepared and incompetent they are, but this time, I can't help but think that she is going back home and telling people that E and I are tyrants and we push Dani too hard.

And the sleeping... still with the sleeping. The first full day they were here, Dani and I both were gone and I met E in town for our appt. I got home around 2:15 and she was still asleep. Dani got off the bus and hour later and only got up because Dani went in to get her. She said that if she had remembered her green tea should wouldn't have to sleep so much.