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Help me help my mum

9 replies

ClimbingtheLadder2024 · 12/07/2024 09:58

I'm 22 and I've been living at home while doing postgraduate vocational study as part of training for a career in professional services. While I've been home, I've noticed that my mum really struggles to make decisions. These decisions can be about big things (eg. whether to change jobs), but she also struggles to make decisions about day-to-day matters. For example, when making plans with my friends I always double check with her that we don't have family plans with her parents and siblings which aren't in the calendar but which she might be thinking about eg. l asked her if she'd mind me going to watch the football at the pub with friends or would she prefer me to be free to watch it at my grandma's. She often takes 48 hours or so to decide, and is similarly indecisive about whether to say yes to specific plans with her friends, or even whether to go for a walk before work.

I think a lot of this indecisiveness arises from the mental load she takes on. Some of this is related to day-to-day household things, but I think that household labour is split quite fairly (although I'm open to suggestions as to what else I can do): we have a cleaner once a week who cleans the bathrooms, kitchen, and downstairs living spaces; everyone takes responsibility for their own rooms; the cooking is split between my mum (50%), dad (30%), and me (20%). All after-dinner clean up is done by my dad, then because my mum and sister struggle to put things back when they got them from, 5 days out of 7 I'll do a half-hour whip around at lunchtime if I'm working from home or after work to put everything that's been left on the surfaces and floors in the kitchen and sitting room away. My parents struggle to remember to do chores that aren't day-to-day but still need to be done regularly so I wash everyone's sheets, towels, and cushion covers, put the dishwasher and washing machine through their cleaning cycle, and hoover the soft furnishings once a week.

The primary issue is that my mum takes on the mental load where she doesn't need to. This relates mainly to what my sister (20) and I are up to. If we're going on a night out, on holiday, moving to and from university at the end of terms, or starting new residential jobs (we've both worked as pastoral and teaching staff on summer schools), my mum will say she can't possibly make a decision about x,y,z because she's focused on getting me/my sister off to whatever we're doing. We're perfectly capable adults who have both lived away from home during university, so she really doesn't need to worry about us getting public transport there, packing appropriately, or fixing whatever problem might arise from us forgetting to pack something. I don't know how to help her with this: we'd much rather she didn't worry about us and instead had more mental capacity to focus on herself. Because she worries so much, if a problem comes up I don't tell her about it until I've found the solution (eg. my flight was once cancelled and I didn't call to tell her until I'd found an alternative).

Any suggestions for how I can help her see that she doesn't need to take on the mental load relating to my and my sister's personal activities because we can manage ourselves would be most appreciated!

OP posts:
Whatatodo79 · 13/07/2024 02:23

I think you'd serve her and yourself best by moving out and living independently. She's trapped in mothering you and needs space to grow back into her own person. Try not to undermine her by making out she can't decide stuff, she's probably peri-menopausal and a bit anxious and feels a bit harangued by people asking her to decide stuff that doesn't really need deciding (honestly you can just go and watch the football where you want).

DoreenonTill8 · 13/07/2024 03:05

Sounds more like weaponised incompetence. She's got you thinking she's hard done to and doing everything yet All after-dinner clean up is done by my dad, then because my mum and sister struggle to put things back when they got them from, 5 days out of 7 I'll do a half-hour whip around at lunchtime if I'm working from home or after work to put everything that's been left on the surfaces and floors in the kitchen and sitting room away. My parents struggle to remember to do chores that aren't day-to-day but still need to be done regularly so I wash everyone's sheets, towels, and cushion covers, put the dishwasher and washing machine through their cleaning cycle, and hoover the soft furnishings once a week.
Does either of them work?

JuneSoon · 13/07/2024 03:35

My DD has been home from uni since beginning of May - she wouldn't dream of asking if she could go and watch the football with friends or if she needs to go to grandma's instead!

She WhatsApps us her weekly work rota and that's it. And if she's going out for the night and won't be back (staying with friend or boyfriend, she'll tell us beforehand).

She does her own washing but will top up with our stuff from the laundry basket but no way would she be stripping beds and washing sheets for the household

She cooks once a week for all of us but mostly gets her own meals to fit around her shifts and social life.

So basically, we're a very close family but also 3 independent adults living together doing our own thing whereas your family seem to have reverted back to how you were prior to you going to uni. Which leads to you infantilising your mum and her over parenting you.

Does that ring true?

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Fraaahnces · 13/07/2024 03:44

Has she always been like this? It could be the result of the roles she has played within your family dynamic. Has she deferred all opinions/tasks/decisions to your Dad/father figure? It could be that she is unaccustomed to fitting you in around her more spontaneous decisions. Maybe she needs you to stop involving her in your own decisions and just do your thing. Politely advise her that these are your plans….

It’s symptomatic of more than just the load burden. Could she possibly have ADHD? Women with adhd are often overwhelmed and indecisive. Doesn’t mean they’re not perfectly functional, but a lot of self-esteem issues as a result and don’t trust their decisions.
Obviously if it’s new, she needs to see her doctor. Could be menopause, anxiety, depression, dementia, all kinds of things that only a doctor can help with.
Kindly and calmly supporting your mum without flustering her by taking over, or asking her why she has issues with decision-making - because that will increase any anxiety she may have about this, is the best thing to do. As a previous poster suggested, don’t add to her load. Get yourself sorted. Stop asking questions. Get on with life and remember that everyone’s different.

ClimbingtheLadder2024 · 13/07/2024 12:46

JuneSoon · 13/07/2024 03:35

My DD has been home from uni since beginning of May - she wouldn't dream of asking if she could go and watch the football with friends or if she needs to go to grandma's instead!

She WhatsApps us her weekly work rota and that's it. And if she's going out for the night and won't be back (staying with friend or boyfriend, she'll tell us beforehand).

She does her own washing but will top up with our stuff from the laundry basket but no way would she be stripping beds and washing sheets for the household

She cooks once a week for all of us but mostly gets her own meals to fit around her shifts and social life.

So basically, we're a very close family but also 3 independent adults living together doing our own thing whereas your family seem to have reverted back to how you were prior to you going to uni. Which leads to you infantilising your mum and her over parenting you.

Does that ring true?

This definitely rings true: my mum is very fixated on us spending quality time together as a family (including with extended family). If I had made plans and she wanted me to go to my grandma’s she’d then get annoyed at me for prioritising my friends over family, so I ask in advance to avoid that sort of confrontation. I can’t physically get to my grandma’s by myself (she doesn’t live on public transport and I can’t yet drive although I’m learning to and almost ready to take a test) so if I don’t go once a week with my mum I don’t get to see her, but my mum doesn’t decide when she’s going to see her to the very last minute. Similarly if I want to spend the weekend at my boyfriend’s or at friends I have to clear it with her in advance - I don’t know how to change that dynamic, I’ve tried saying ‘I’m going to xyz this weekend’ rather than asking for permission, but then she tells me I’m treating her home like a hotel.

OP posts:
ClimbingtheLadder2024 · 13/07/2024 12:48

Whatatodo79 · 13/07/2024 02:23

I think you'd serve her and yourself best by moving out and living independently. She's trapped in mothering you and needs space to grow back into her own person. Try not to undermine her by making out she can't decide stuff, she's probably peri-menopausal and a bit anxious and feels a bit harangued by people asking her to decide stuff that doesn't really need deciding (honestly you can just go and watch the football where you want).

Moving out is the plan, I’ve been working full time since my post grad course finished to save to go travelling from October to Christmas then move out in February (at which point I also get a maintenance grant from the firm I’m training at which will help fund the move) - so perhaps this is a short term problem that will resolve itself once that happens.

OP posts:
ClimbingtheLadder2024 · 13/07/2024 12:50

DoreenonTill8 · 13/07/2024 03:05

Sounds more like weaponised incompetence. She's got you thinking she's hard done to and doing everything yet All after-dinner clean up is done by my dad, then because my mum and sister struggle to put things back when they got them from, 5 days out of 7 I'll do a half-hour whip around at lunchtime if I'm working from home or after work to put everything that's been left on the surfaces and floors in the kitchen and sitting room away. My parents struggle to remember to do chores that aren't day-to-day but still need to be done regularly so I wash everyone's sheets, towels, and cushion covers, put the dishwasher and washing machine through their cleaning cycle, and hoover the soft furnishings once a week.
Does either of them work?

I think that’s an uncharitable reading - she my dad both have full-time,demanding professional jobs: my dad commutes to the city twice a week and regularly works until two in the morning. My mum doesn’t work evenings and weekends but between 8 and 6 she’s 100% on all the time, rarely stopping to take a lunch break or anything.

OP posts:
cupcaske123 · 13/07/2024 12:57

OP I think you're doing too much. Can't the cleaner hoover the soft furnishings as part of their duties? Why are your mum and sister incapable of putting things away? They can't pick something up and put it back in a cupboard? Is there a reason for that?

I would refrain from telling your mum anything that might make her worry. Perhaps suggest things that might help her fret less.

I also suggest you move out as soon as you can.

JuneSoon · 13/07/2024 18:43

I don’t know how to change that dynamic, I’ve tried saying ‘I’m going to xyz this weekend’ rather than asking for permission, but then she tells me I’m treating her home like a hotel

No, you're treating your home like a home. You need to be able to plan your own life without being made to feel guilty.

It's ridiculous that an adult should be compelled to accompany her parents on frequent visits to grandma. My DD is notified, say, 4 times a year that she needs to book time off work or take a break from her studies or social life because grandad will be visiting or we're going to see him and her presence would be appreciated. She's happy to comply because that's part of the family contract. She wouldn't be happy if we tried to make her visit grandad weekly.

And I love to spend time with her but it's only "quality" time if we want to be together (we do!) and I'm not preventing her from seeing her friends or boyfriend.

I'm not trying to make us out to be the perfect family just showing how parents can live happily with their adult kids.

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