Texts From Last Night

My mom has been texting me a bit lately; I haven't seen her in person for a few weeks.

June 17th
Mom -"Channeling you as I clean my bedroom closet...well at least a little, def NOT as empty as you would have it but at least a 1/3rd is gone. :)"
Me - ":)"
Mom -"Need any slippers, old shoes, books...? LOL Bet I know your answer in advance."
Me -"lol"
Mom -"But...they might be too good to throw out or let get out of the family! Lol."

I don't know that a text has ever made me feel so sad and hopeless before. Everyone who has ever said "lol" knows that it's a place holder, one that you use in an uncomfortable silence, or a segway for topic change. I know my mom thought she was joking, but I also know that she isn't. It's hard to be encouraging when I see so little change or action on any scale larger than a day.

June 27th
Mom -"GET OUT of my head! Lol. Threw away another full trash bag of "stuff" from the bedroom :)"
Me -

My boyfriend has become increasingly frustrated over the hostile working conditions as my parents bicker in front of him.While the three of them were having lunch next door at the pizza joint, my mother stormed out after my father upset her, and caused a big scene...in a small town. My boyfriend just told me that in a conversation about the job they're taking him to for the weekend, she managed to claim that 1) no one helps her clean and 2) my dad is overweight like his dad was. It's becoming more and more obvious that if my parents did ever clean up, they would have nothing in common anymore. Which, judging by their daily interactions -if you could even call them that- they would be better off apart.

Last night my boyfriend and I stayed up talking about the logistics of cleaning out their properties. We figure the shop would have to be cleaned out for it to be sold, but the garage would have to be cleaned out to make room for the necessary construction to finish it off for storage/garage/office space. But if it's unclear whether they would even stay together, there doesn't seem to be much of a point.

I am itching to clean something, though. After that statement from my mom about "no one helping her clean," I'm not going to lie; I feel like telling her to...*ehem* do it herself. Instead, I'll probably be feeling sorry for her again by Saturday, and because I don't have a 12hour day that day, I'll probably end up driving 45 minutes to their house and seeing if I can't get something done. Maybe if I work in the garage they won't notice, which will give me the room to do what I see fit. Of course, now I'm listening to myself and realizing I should take a break because I'm sounding jaded and self-important and everything that is going to probably prohibit progress with my parents.

When someone discovers/invents a way to *fix* their parents or problems or clutter...look me up.