Posted by Dinah on May 21, 2004, at 11:28:20
In reply to Re: Body acceptance, posted by Ilene on May 21, 2004, at 7:09:51
It seems sort of petty in a way. And maybe I do overreact. But it's so much of who my mother is. We made the mistake of telling her after the Reagan Mondale election that now she could throw away the papers that had been stacking up as she got behind reading the editorials. She never threw away another paper in her life. They're stacked to the ceiling in all but one room of the house (my father's room).
We mentioned it was time to take down the Christmas tree, so it's still up four years later (yes, it was a real one).
Her neighbors asked her to please trim back the garden so they could walk to their backyard. Many acrimonious exchanges later it ended up with her screaming at personnel from the county, and vowing never to cut another of her plants ever. (Repetitive fines that my father refused to pay eventually helped her see the joys of having someone to help in the garden.)
The gifts are just another sign of willfulness going amuck. My father says he's afraid to challenge her about anything because she's sure to figure out something much much worse to do instead. No one else's desires matter to her, although she pretends that she does everything she does for the benefit of others.
But maybe I'm overreacting.
poster:Dinah
thread:348135
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040517/msgs/349229.html