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Christina, I bow to your superior practical wisdom in this case!
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Jeanne, I like results, too! Sex and Pasta are the answer! I know I'm right this time:)
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Put her on a plane to Italy and let her find an old Italian widower in her home town. That will fix everything. You can visit. I'll come with you. Ciao, bella. xo
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"I could never ask her to leave." Well, there you have it. I guess it doesn't matter whether it is cultural or guilt or a touch of mild insanity. For whatever reason, you are stuck with this situation.

But it is bad for you. It is bad for your kids. Doesn't your culture/guilt/insanity kick in regarding giving them a happy environment? I think clh777 (the first response) nailed it. Either change the living arrangements (which you "can't" do) or learn to live with your mother's needs more harmoniously. Learn to set and enforce boundaries. For example, either learn to shrug off her "jail" complaints and not let them bother you OR tell her that as long as she is living with you you will not listen to that type of complaint, and walk out of the room every time she starts up.

I suggest that seeing a family counselor would be helpful. Go alone initially and perhaps the counselor will also want other family members involved.

Mother is in great health. You are very likely to be dealing with this all the years your children are at home. Getting this on track for a healthy relationship is worth a lot effort now, in my opinion.

I sincerely wish you success in making some improvements, for everyone's sake.
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Jeannegibbs - yes, i was having a bad day, but to be perfectly honest, even today if I had my wish, my mother would have "her own life". I've always hesitated to post here because I can't really explain why the situation is what it is. Maybe part cultural? She's from a small town in Italy where it isn't unusual for adult kids to be living at home. I believe it's because of economic need but that can be confused with ethnic traditions. Here's an example of what my mother will do: she will vent about how she's trapped and in jail, living with me and my family. This is how it starts. Then, I will very nicely suggest that I look into a subs apartment for her and she'll say "Well, if you really want me to leave, I'll go..." in other words, she turns the situation totally around and blame me. I think she's really afraid to live alone. I'm really not sure but I sure wish that I knew. I can never get a straight answer from her and I could never ask her to leave. Maybe it's a guilt thing, maybe it's a cultural thing. I would of course reconsider if she ever needed care that I felt I couldn't provide.
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Umm ... tell us again WHY your mother is living with you? She can't afford to live alone? Have you looked into options such as subsidized housing? It sounds like you are not enjoying the arrangement and she's not enjoying her "jail." So, who is benefiting? Doesn't sound like this is ideal for the kids. Are you doing this for your husband's sake?

Sorry if this seems callous. I'm a results-oriented practical person. Now maybe you are just having a bad day. I can relate to that! Maybe tomorrow everything will look different. That is OK. You were just venting. But if what you wrote is a fairly accurate and consistent state of your situation, then I just don't get it. No one is happy with this situation and yet you are so adamant about continuing it you even about a bigger house. Huh?
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JessieBelle - oooohhh! LOL - I understand now. Thanks for clearing things up.
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energyvampire, you and I were typing at the same time above. I was addressing clh777's response to your original message. It was a little black and white for me. Many of us know how you feel and how hard it can be to deal with feeling that we need to keep our parent company. Sometimes we just need to talk about it. Talking can help a lot.
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I do think it is normal to want to run sometimes. If that starts to happen more and more, you may want to explore other options. Your mum might be OK in an ALF with other people around, and activities going on. You have 2 children who need your best, and you have done many years of caregiving. It won't get easier, it will get harder as your mother ages. No one can make someone else happy. She sounds like she is quite controlling if she is rearranging your cabinets and décor. You do need your own life. Give other options some thought. Since she has not much money Medicaid would pay for her in a facility. In any case, do come back and vent - it helps. (((((((hugs)))))) Joan
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Thanks all for your responses:) Jessie - I'm not sure what you were referring to when you said "ouch - that was a bit rough?". I was responding to the first commenter. I appreciated his/her insight very much and was just trying to say that yes, good point and normally I'm pretty good at keeping it all in perspective. Perhaps I'm just having a bad day and need to vent. Also saying that I'm human and that it's normal to have bad days - not trying at all to be sarcastic, although I guess that's how it was perceived? I'm pretty straightforward with the keyboard and it's often difficult to communicate using words without emotion...sorry if I offended anyone!
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energy vampire, I never had mom live with us but there were many weeks I spent the night at her house 5 out of 7. I would've gone crazy if she had been living in our home. But I can totally relate to how you feel in general. My mom was a lot like yours. She didn't have dementia but several major health issues. She expected us to be her entertainment committee. If she wanted home improvements or new decorating done, it was expected we had to do it although she could afford to hire it done. On many occasions I got the "you owe me because I raised you" guilt trip. I could go on but you can see I get what you're saying. Does your mom have hobbies? If not, she needs one or several low cost projects. You also should tell her she's driving you nuts and both of you come up with a remedy. I don't recommend being angry at her when you plan your meeting because I did that and the results weren't good.
In hindsight, maybe you should've stayed in your original home and maybe monetarily helped her get a place of her own but you can't undo what's been done. If she can't afford to live elsewhere then you're going to have to work very hard not to feel stuck. Set up boundaries. Also, you know your mom and if she's always been like this then you can pray for miracle but I doubt she's going to change at this late date. There may be times you actually love her but dislike her too. That's not abnormal. You have every right to feel as you do but please don't let it go on without getting some changes in place. It's not fair to any of you.
Oh yes, I'd give anything to have had a mother I loved and adored. I did not. She was an abuser and one of the most hateful, underhanded people I ever met. She didn't like me, ever, and let me know it my whole life. It was hard to do anything for her but I tried. My kids never liked being with her, as kids or as adults. She sucked the pleasure out of every family gathering. They said her legacy was to teach them how NOT to be and I have to agree.
Hang in there. Come here and vent. But the bottom line is only you can change what goes on in your home. I'm hoping you find relief soon.
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Ouch, that was a bit rough, especially since many people here know how you feel, energyvampire. As people grow and age, they often become more and more separate from the community. When the people they know die, there is often no one left for them. Ideally they would make new friends their own age. But life is less than ideal. A lot of times the caregiver becomes the main friend.

My mother is a hermit. She has two friends, but I have a hard time getting her to do anything with them. I wouldn't mind it so much, but it would take a lot of pressure off of me to keep her company. My mother and I don't have much in common. We don't enjoy the same TV. She can't carry on a good conversation. I try to interact with her, but I can't, so I feel guilty for not paying more attention to her.

I am fortunate because my mother doesn't seem to want anything much to do with me. That sounds strange, I know, but I don't know what I would do if she started following me around and insisting to go everywhere with me. That would be awful. If my mother did have the wish to go out, I would see how she liked our local senior center. There are many things to do there for people who still have their cognitive functions. The main thing is there are other people who are looking for the same thing -- companionship with people their own age. That is priceless.
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Thanks for your response. You make some very valid points - I'm just so out of energy today. I'm also raising a 10 and 9 year old, and most days are fine, but other days like today I want to run far far far away. I'd like to think that's normal?
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Sounds to me that your Unhappiness with her being there is at the front on your mind all the time so why is she there? Stop allowing your complaints about her to make you unhappy. Either arrange for her to go somewhere else or learn to understand her neediness while she is there otherwise what you are "doing" for her does not make sense. You either want to love someone with all their faults or you don't.
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