Did your Mom do things........

CrazyKittyLvr2 · ‎05-11-2013

that made you chuckle or just shake your head? When dad was in the hospital and she was alone at night she not only locked front & back doors,she locked herself in the bedroom. We had a fit. Explained that in an emergencyit would take longer to get to her.

After Dad died she wouldn't sleep with windows open in the summer. It was the 2nd floor, no ladders were around and no roof to climb on to then enter window. For Pete's sake I don't think a burgler is hauling a 10' ladder around with him.

I had a cup of fresh cup of coffee and step out of the kitchen for less than 5 min., came back, no cup.I asked and got "I thought you were done" never mind it was full and steaming. She had the cup washed,dried and put away. It was a thing with her.

In the summer she would be putting the food away while you were eating so no one got sick. If you wanted another helping of coleslaw you had to get out of the frig. Yes,don't leave food out for 2 hrs. but really,

She also washed the dishes before they went into dishwasher. Not scrap and maybe rinse something sticky off, full sink of hot soapy water, rinse in hot water and in they went. My sister and I gave up asking why and would just shake our heads.

and bless her,she was naive about somethings. Can't count the times I said "I am not explaining that to her"

She was a great Mom but she did some weird stuff.

dex · ‎03-09-2010

@CrazyKittyLvr2 @She seemed to be obsessed with cleanliness,food safety and security....not bad in my mind.I am also careful with food and we rarely get stomach upsets.My mom obsessed about finances and always saved for a rainy day...another great life lesson for me.

nana59 · ‎05-12-2012

my mom died at a young 57 in 1981....one of the household chores i remember her doing was washing the inside of the toilet tank!! a chore i never inherited!!

phoenixbrd · ‎03-27-2010

@CrazyKittyLvr2 I can tell you loved her even with her "funnies"...

My mom thought paying attention to yourself (as in paying too much attention to food, make-up, clothing) was somehow decadent and indecent...I think she would have made a good Quaker (in fact, I know there were many in our background). I never heard her raise her voice, curse, or be demonstratively angry. I never heard her gossip or indulge in derogatory discussions particularly about people. She had an extensive vocabulary, education, and excellent grammar was expected. She was well read and wrote work that was published. She loved a conversation that required wit and intelligence. My love of books and research proclivity comes from her...most of my gifts as a child were books. She was a decent human being and extremely stoic. She was a "good" woman with some interesting traits that we all have... just different ones.

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@CrazyKittyLvr2 wrote:
that made you chuckle or just shake your head? When dad was in the hospital and she was alone at night she not only locked front & back doors,she locked herself in the bedroom. We had a fit. Explained that in an emergencyit would take longer to get to her.

After Dad died she wouldn't sleep with windows open in the summer. It was the 2nd floor, no ladders were around and no roof to climb on to then enter window. For Pete's sake I don't think a burgler is hauling a 10' ladder around with him.

I had a cup of fresh cup of coffee and step out of the kitchen for less than 5 min., came back, no cup.I asked and got "I thought you were done" never mind it was full and steaming. She had the cup washed,dried and put away. It was a thing with her.

In the summer she would be putting the food away while you were eating so no one got sick. If you wanted another helping of coleslaw you had to get out of the frig. Yes,don't leave food out for 2 hrs. but really,

She also washed the dishes before they went into dishwasher. Not scrap and maybe rinse something sticky off, full sink of hot soapy water, rinse in hot water and in they went. My sister and I gave up asking why and would just shake our heads.

and bless her,she was naive about somethings. Can't count the times I said "I am not explaining that to her"

She was a great Mom but she did some weird stuff.

@CrazyKittyLvr2 Are we sisters? Sounds just like my mother!

She has a condo in a senior community in Florida. The front door must be locked at all times even if I offer to take her trash out just down the hall which means I need to bring a key. Food must be put away asap, dishes are to be washed & dried just as fast.

When I visit her (she's on the second floor BTW) and I go sit on her balcony which is a very spacious and shady area, I not only have to close the sliding doors but I must lock it as well as the windows in the space whenever I come back inside even if it's for just a few minutes!...this is a gated community too!

ETA: The latest weird thing that I noticed last time I visited is that she unplugs her small kitchen appliances after using them...toaster oven, toaster & Keurig. I asked her why she did that thinking it was either for safety (fire hazard) or to save environmental resources, but no it was to save on her electricity bill. I can't imagine how much she's saving by doing that!

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

When we moved her into a new place, the first thing she wanted was to have the dishwasher removed. She said she had been washing dishes for 70 years so there was no reason for a machine to do it now...and she didn’t trust they would clean as well as her. She was also the queen of laundry- folding. It was like origami! When you unfolded anything, it was wrinkle-free. I didn’t inherit that skill....I have even been known to just stuff underwear into the drawer without folding it five times! She also had the best purse ever.....I swear our family could have survived for a week with the stuff in her purse. Tape measure, nail kit, Kleenex, bandaids, cheese crackers, scissors, safety pins, pocket knife, a bar of soap, wet wipes, etc. and that was just on one side of the purse....❤️

Mersha · ‎03-10-2010

My mother did quite a few "weird" things but the one that drove me nuts:

If we were in any sort of parking lot, she made it a quest to get the first spot in the row. She would drive around continually until this happened. If we were a row over and a space opened up, she made me get out of the car and run to the space so that I could stand in it and save it until she got there.

I was so happy when I learned to drive and could go places without her.

"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." BF

1Snickers · ‎03-19-2016

@CrazyKittyLvr2 My Mother loved decorating the house especially at Christmas.

She and several friends and all the kids went in a field to find interesting tree roots for her to dry and decorate.

We found a perfect root and suddenly heard one Mother screaming that the Bull was coming!

We ran so fast and Mama was laughing because it was a curious cow!

She sprayed snow on the tree root and had candles on it that she lit during dinner. The hot wax melted the snow and it smelled terrible. My Father just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Most other decorations turned out lovely, but I’ll always remember the tree root.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

No, my mother was pretty normal.

My MIL did weird things though. She wrapped up everything in aluminum foil. She would give my children a small pint of milk or a can of Coke to take home for later and would wrap it up in foil.

She wouldn't also "steal" everything she could get her hands on..packets of sugar, ketchup.

Grocery shopping took forever. She would remove everything from the shelves to get the item in the back. She would not buy any food product with a torn label, a small dent in a can or a dent in the box....she inspected everything.

She would drive my kids crazy with handwashing. If they ate a cookie, they would have to wash their hands afterwards. Kids were not allowed to run through the house because they would kick up dust.

Oh, there is more...much more.

occasionalrain · ‎03-10-2010

My mother was a gracious host and an excellent cook/baker. Everyone who came to my house was offered refreshments including cake, pie, or pastry.

This extended to car trips ans Sunday drives. Once on the road, out came the food and served around. At church the menu was limited to life savers and, just one time cinnamon balls that were retired after I put one in the brim of my hat and got it to roll about. That got the look from my mother and , a what were thinking, did you want to embarrass your father.