Aside from the fact that I have been sick with almost everything circling the planet this winter, my mom hurt herself. She fell and broke her ankle in January, and after an abortive attempt to go home from the ER with her "sprained" ankle, an ambulance ride and a horrid week on the oncology floor of the hospital (they had a spare bed,) trying to figure out why she couldn't walk, she left town. She needed to be in a rehabilitation facility and the good ones here in town had no room. So she chose to go to a brand new place where she grew up, that just happens to be owed by one of her brothers. For her this has been a very good choice, as she has had hot and cold running visitors from our big Swedish family and people she knew growing up. For me it means a half of every weekend is spent on the road visiting her. The other half of the weekend is spent trying to muster enough energy to start another work week, 'cause I am so dang tired. I did miss two weekends due to bad weather then illness, but she misses her kids so much, and I can't deny her 4 or 5 hours a week when she is going throgh so much pain. (Plus there is still some residual guilt from abandoning her in a youth hostal when she visted me in London on limited resources, but that is another sad tale I am not going into today....)
Sadly, I have been living off of fast food, and quick tricks (toasted baguette with cheese or canned soup) and it hasn't been very good for me. I just don't cook in single person quantities, and I don't like to eat the same thing for 6 days in a row. Seems like a waste to cook, so I haven't. When I have wanted a "real" meal I have been bumming them off my sister or ordering a steak with green beans and pasta from C@rraba car side service. I realized I haven't really been taking care of myself when I saw the sad state of my cooking onions.
That all changes now. Mom is coming home on Saturday and I can finally go back to cooking for plus one again. These past three months have been odd. The house is a pit, the cats have gotten VERY weird and I have confirmed my long held belief that I am not meant to live on my own. I am too solitary by nature, I need someone making sure I'm still alive on a regular basis. Although I sometimes feel defensive about "living with my mommy, " the truth is she can no longer live alone, I don't live off her (we split all expenses) and I do not want to live alone. Perhaps this "vacation" will cure me of my sheepishness on the subject. Perhaps not, since I feel compelled to rationalize things to you....
On prettier news, just look at how beautiful my G is. Her aunt (mother's sister) took her to a Taipei "Glamour Shots" shoot and it looks like she had a good time. A's favorite is the black and white picture, because her smile is less "fake-y," but I love them all! Can you believe she is TEN.
