Parents acting as children

My mom has always been a freak for being thin, and as such, has been on every diet known to man. She's doing quite well with Weight Watchers lately, and I'm glad she's on that because it forces her to eat three meals a day, something she's never done. She's also been exercising regularly, so I'm pleased that her health has been pretty good for a while now.

Yesterday she came to work and was pretty well banged up. She had cuts and bruises all up and down her right arm, and her right eye was slightly swollen. Apparently, she went flying off the treadmill and hit her head square on the floor. She had a headache (understandably) but also complained that her vision in her right eye was blurry. She also felt slightly nauseus.

Not good, mom.

We sent her home and asked her to make a doctor appointment to get checked out. She yessed us to death and went home (on her own -- she wouldn't let one of us drive her) and we told her to stay awake until late that night. Knowing she had a concussion, I pleaded with her to get checked out. She said she'd be back to work today.

This morning she called me at home to tell me she wouldn't be in, that her head was still pounding and that her vision was still blurred. Worried, I asked her again to go to the doctor, and she once again pushed me off. When I got to work, I called to check on her and asked her "if it were me, what would you do?" She of course answered, "tell you to go to the doctor."

She hasn't been to the doctor yet.

I'm really worried about her. Had she not had the head trauma I'd say it was nothing, but the blurred vision and constant headaches could be indicative of something more worrisome. Why is it that our parents sometimes act as the children, forcing you to do for them what they should do for themselves?

New job is the old job

Back at the end of the summer I went job hunting to work in NYC once again, and to make more money. My job at the time was completely fine -- working for my mom's company gave me much latitude as far as what I did on a daily basis. But after two years I began thinking there was more out there, that I could be making a heluva lot more money, which at the time was quite appealing. After a brief search, I found what seemed to be the perfect job. Something that challenged me professionally. Something that paid me nearly double what I was making working for mom. Something that was back in NYC (even though I'd be commuting two hours each way.)

Boy was I wrong! The commute was horrid. Two hours EACH WAY. What was I thinking? The company, which initially I thought would be great, was actually not so great. I got no training, no support, and no direction. Even though the money was good, I was frustrated, tired, and saw things going progressively downhill. I wanted my mommy back.

When I left her company she left the door open for me to return whenever I wanted. Thinking it wouldn't be necessary, I thanked her but politely declined. Two months later, I was asking for my job back. Luckily, she was missing me too, not just because I'm her son, but because I did a lot more for her than she realized, and saw my value to be much higher than what she was previously paying me. We negotiated a bit, and came upon an equitable return package. Sure its not the crazy money I was making in Manhattan, but it's significantly more than what I was making with her before I left, and my job now encompasses a lot more diverse responsibilities, another bonus. AND, rather than a two hour each way commute, I'm back to driving 15 minutes to and from work.

Lesson learned. Money isn't always everything.