To be fair she has pneumonia so and has had a temperature for about three weeks. I've been telling her for the past two weeks it sounds to me like she has pneumonia (I had it a about four years ago.) They've finally given her an x-ray and told her this.
Now here's the thing. She has chosen to live hundreds of miles away from all her children but still calls on us all the time.
She called me earlier today to complain at how pissed off she was with her cousin for trying to help. She said, 'How dare [her cousin] interfere like this. She's trying to come and help out and I don't want her.'
The thing is she gets on well with her cousin normally. Her cousin is a single woman, like her, who lives just 40 miles or so away. She ought to be fostering these links as she needs a support network. She always alienates people around her and then me, my sister and my brother have to be on call despite having young families of our own with whom she never helps out btw.
However, my mum has decided that my brother has to travel the 300 miles, leaving his wife, 3 year old dd and 6 month old son, alone over easter. (SIL is from South America and relatively newly arrived here so has very few friends and was probably looking forward to BIL having some time off to spend with the family.
I'm torn between guilt at feeling irritated with her when she's so ill, and unbridled irritation with her selfishness.