"When my mom was 76 and I was 52, my mom decided it was time to free herself from the rigors and responsibilities of homeownership. So, she decided to leave her close-knit Florida neighborhood and travel north to live with me in upstate New York. We had lived 1500 miles apart for 35 years and naively assumed that because we had always gotten along well when I was young and when she visited, it would be all tea parties and good times."
"I am a vegetarian. My mom is not. There were some tense moments when my mom was trying to savor time in the kitchen cooking, with me close by, imagining Salmonella and E. coli coating the surfaces. Mom tried not to be annoyed with me ruining her enjoyable time, saying, "Don't contaminate the faucet!" and hovering around with a bleach spray at the ready. She gave me her infamous eye roll. I made her fun times in the kitchen a lot less fun."
"When I tried to offer advice that I thought would help make my mom's life easier, I only ended up irritating her. She didn't want to be told what to do. I thought I was being a caring daughter, but my mom didn't want or need to be mothered. She had taken care of herself for the past 60 years and was still razor sharp with the same anti-authority streak sh"
A 76-year-old mother moved from Florida to upstate New York to live with her 52-year-old daughter after 35 years and 1500 miles apart. They initially enjoyed catching up, reminiscing, and making plans. Living together revealed significant changes in habits, values, and daily routines that had developed during decades apart. Differences in diet and kitchen hygiene produced repeated tensions, and well‑intended advice from the daughter felt like unwanted control to the mother. The mother remained independent and resistant to being mothered, forcing both to confront long-standing personalities, boundaries, and the need for new compromises to coexist.
Read at Business Insider
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