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Hi Golden! Thanks! You wrote:

”venting - if you were hit by a bus tomorrow, what would happen to those you care for? They would be cared for somehow by somehow. You are not indispensable. None of us are.”

I’m trying to save my life.
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Now I am wondering if the demo/restoration project across the street is an HGTV project. They have been working every day and night from 9ish a.m. Until 3ish a.m. They have been in town since the end of July or so, I think, had 18 projects and wanted to be complete and out of here by the end of October.

The coffee shop is having health and building department issues. They were to reopen about three weeks ago. Still waiting....
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A ha!
Clicked News Feed. A new choice it seems (or I only just noticed);

Show: All Activity, Questions, Discussions etc.
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FF, I use my cell phone often and never have a problem with discussions, you just have to scroll down from ask a question.
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Just read on another post that cell phones the "Discussion" section of AgingCare is not available? That's weird. Maybe that explains why the traffic on Discussion seems very slow.

I don't view anything on the internet on a cellphone because I can't get the fonts or photos large enough to see clearly. So I use my desk top computer for all things internet.

My sig-other has neck issues due to bending his head over his cellphone all these years. He swears up and down it's not because of his phone :P Have noticed he's using his desk top computer a lot more now.
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cw - Calgary had snow before us this year but it melted. We do get quantities at times so a snow blower is appropriate, but the quality of the snow is different. In Ontario it is "wetter". I saw piles up to the top of telephone poles in Ontario regularly. Never seen it that high here.

Snow has different qualities. Here it is dry. When I drove north to Fort Smith some years ago I saw "snow garlands" hanging from branches. I have never seen that anywhere else. It must be due to freezing and thawing conditions.
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Golden - I was texting with nephew#2 last night, he said the weather there (south of E-ton) reminded him of the snow back home and he was musing about buying a snow blower... I guess deep snow isn't as usual in the north?
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venting - if you were hit by a bus tomorrow, what would happen to those you care for? They would be cared for somehow by somehow. You are not indispensable. None of us are.

My whine today is snow and cold. It came and it is staying for the next 4-5 months. Aaargh!!!!! I don't like it!!! 😒🙁😖 Brrr!
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Hi BurntCaregiver!

“I'm done with being bullied, gaslit, and treated like lower than a pile of garbage.”

I wish I could do the same.
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Hi BurntCaregiver! I agree with every word you wrote, every description! Thanks!

Thanks also for your kind words in the end! I wish the same for you of course!

“Don't be surprised by the lying.”

Actually, it totally took me by surprise.

“Bullies love to have allies who will back them up if they're confronted. Or who will justify their behavior and ease their mind if they feel a slight stir of conscience that they could be the one at fault. So, they'll lie about their victim and try to gaslight others into believing it.”

Yes!
She’s turned the caregivers against me.

“I hope you take back your life”

Yes!
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@ventingisback

Don't be surprised by the lying. Bullies love to have allies who will back them up if they're confronted. Or who will justify their behavior and ease their mind if they feel a slight stir of conscience that they could be the one at fault. So, they'll lie about their victim and try to gaslight others into believing it.
My mother has been lying like a ten-dollar streetwalker about me since I was about six years old. That's about when her cruelty and bullying began too. The lying got her the allies she needed, the pity from others she craved, and I got to be the villian. In truth I got to be the scapegoat. I replaced my father who took her abuse until he couldn't anymore and left. She was so good at it and gaslighting that I would so often apologize and beg forgiveness even when I had no idea what I did wrong.
Those days are long gone. I'll make sure she has adequate services or is placed decently in managed care. I'd do this for pretty much anyone I knew who needed help and care. I don't feel any duty or obligation towards her for being my parent and she knows it.
I'm done with being bullied, gaslit, and treated like lower than a pile of garbage. Being treated like garbage by her would be an improvement. With garbage you just throw it away and that's the end of it. No one keeps it to bully and torment.
I hope you take back your life and cut your mother out of it if she brings nothing but pain and discord to the relationship. You don't deserve it and neither do I. Best of luck to you my friend. I wish you much good health, wealth, and happiness in this life. L'chaim!
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Hello BurntCaregiver! So good to hear you! Courage!

Gosh, I’m going through h***ll here. The level of meanness reached a level I never imagined. Lots and lots of lies about me.

It’s terrible that so many of us nice daughters are faced with bullying, very mean moms. My mom has always been like this towards me. It’s now a lot worse.

Of course, I knew it can get worse with age. I never thought my mom would lie about me. I see others also have moms who lied.
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@ventingisback

I'm sorry your mother is acting up again with the terrible behavior. I know how that is and lots of other people around the world do too.
I love the post you put up about mean and bullying moms. I wish I had seen something like this when I was a kid. It would have spared me a lot of heartache and silent tears.
It took a lot work and therapy to get me to the point where I could co-exist in relative peace with my mother and even help her. That time has since passed and her abusive neediness and bullying has become intolerable and I'm leaving her. She has fear of course because the 'What about me?' narcissism is at the forefront of her mind which is understandable. I understand her concerns but that doesn't mean I will sacrifice any more of my life to her pettiness and vindictiveness.
She has been hinting around here and there about 'when we all move to the new house'. It has been made very clear to her by everyone she knows that she will not be living with me. We've even explained to her that we have a legal contract stating that neither I nor my reconciled ex-husband will ever move a parent or family member into any property that we own and occupy for the reason of caregiving. Nor shall either or us relocate to such person's residence for caregiving. The consequences of breeching this contract will be that the person breeching it forfeits their ownership of property to the other. It will literally be illegal for her to live with us and her response is usually just to tell me, 'we'll see'. Indeed we will, or rather she will.
I hate bullies of every stripe and walk of life. I take pride in being the exact opposite of my mother in this way and in every other I can manage.
Thanks again for the great post about mean moms. It made my day.
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Other internet advice…

…Feel hurt, vent — then move on.

…Do the opposite.
“I err on the other side and kill them with kindness. I hold doors open. I smile every time I see them. I show that when they go low, we go high.”

…Reclaim your power.
“Not taking what they do personally and not giving them the power to make you feel badly is a choice. It is well within your power, you just have to do it (if you want to, of course). It is liberating to do it, to not give someone the power to hurt you. It’s a switch to flip actually.”

…Don’t react.
“Ignore. Do not engage. Ignore.”

…Just do you.
“Sometimes, I try to be extra nice but I’m also a take no crap kind of person. I’m never cool, by their standards, and just do ‘me.’”

…Remember that it’s not about you.
“Mean people are often unhappy people. Keeping that in mind helps mitigate the rage I might otherwise feel when people are unnecessarily obnoxious. I’m not saying it makes everything better, but if you can keep that in mind, it can help reduce the otherwise large space this might occupy in your day-to-day.”
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More terrible behavior from my Mom. She lies about me to others. Serious topics. I had to contact a lawyer.

I read some advice on the internet. How to deal with mean moms:

…Remain Calm 
If at all possible, do not argue with a mean mom. Getting emotional, upset, or even angry only makes the bullying worse,
…Bullies want to get a reaction. Be sure you refuse to give her one.

…Why Do Adult Women Bully? 
Adult women who bully others do so for the same reasons that teens bully others. They want power.
…Some mean moms are motived by jealousy and envy. 

…You owe it to yourself, to stand up to the bullying. 

…Realize It Isn't Really About You 
…You are not the one with the problem. She is. So, stop blaming yourself for being bullied.
…Most likely, her bullying comes from a place of insecurity.
…There is something wonderful or unique about you that has her running scared and feeling insecure. Maybe she feels threatened by you. Maybe she is jealous of your success, your house, or your marriage. Who knows?
…The key is not to take her bullying to heart. There is nothing wrong with you. Don't waste your time trying to figure out what you need to change or how to make her like you. Also, remember that you are probably not the only one she is picking on. And not everyone believes her lies.

…And if she threatens to turn other people against you, don't worry about it. If these other people are willing to side with her mean behavior do you really want them in your life anyway?

…The important thing is that you're defending yourselfagainst her attacks.
…At the very least, it might make her question whether or not it's worth it to attack you.

…Stick to your guns and call her out for being mean. Bullies count on victims remaining silent. Disappoint her by speaking up.

…Pick Your Battles
Many times, when moms who bully are left to their own devices, they self-destruct. Eventually, people will see through a mean mom's conniving and manipulating; and she will have less impact over time. So be patient. The end of her rule may be closer than you think.

…GIVE UP ON SEEING A CHANGE
…It is much better for you to focus on things you have control over than it is to try to get her to change.
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First snow of the season, not quite here yet, but about 60 miles west of here. Lots of snow in the mountains!
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Pam, Gnomes, so cute :)

I have been thinning out Christmas decor over the years. Couple years ago I gave my sig-other's daughter all of the Snow Village set, boxes upon boxes. It was just too much work setting up the Village, mainly running and down the basement stairs where the Village was stored. Now I understand why my parents had hardly anything for the holidays as they had gotten older.

But I always have candles in all the windows for the holidays, lit 24 hours a day as the bulbs last longer that way. Just wish we had more snow to really make it feel festive.
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PamZ. I saw deer at a TJ Maxx. I did the same thing for my son. Still buy him one of the Hallmark dated ornaments since 1977. I’ve bought my 3 grands one every year too. I love gnomes.
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Last year after Mom passed I decided to "downsize" my Christmas decorating. decided to go with a theme, only really do the rec room and one tree in the upstairs living room for "looks" . I went with a deer theme,, got 2 tree skirts and have some stuffed plaid deer to sit around.. they have been everywhere the past few years. And I love the look in our rural house. I do have other country stuff I use. but am trying to move things out,, but still look holiday like. This year everthing is Gnomes!! OK, they are cute.. but to me they do not say Christmas! And I can;t even find deer much on Amazon! I may go to the local Homegoods, etc to find some things,, but even the second hand stores have no deer! My DD loves the Gnomes, so I got her some ornaments and such,, but I may turn into the Grinch if I can;t find some deer! BTW I have bought my DD an ornament every year since she was born,, so she was set to go when she moved out!
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natasana - I'm sorry your mum is so miserable to you. I hope the meds help.

glad - are there noise bylaws so you can report?
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Why, oh why do the neighbors need to work on their remodeling project in the middle of the night? New granite and all! Must be kitchen and maybe bathrooms.

Why are neighbors getting dogs that like to bark whenever they are outside?

Why are there so many loud mufflers lately? There has been one for a few years, now it seems like there are 3-4.

This used to be such a quiet neighborhood!

😧😧😧😧
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Mom wasn't able to perform the usual showtime during hospice visit today. In fact she was downright rude. Her extreme anxiety and meanness caught him off guard. Poor hospice nurse saw what I've been experiencing for months. He lost his smile. He ordered lorazepam. We'll take this slow.
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Bless God, the lady from the movers who came yesterday was efficient and friendly and her quote is the best yet so I am going with them. What a difference!!!

Shades of the sewer fiasco, I was called and told that I will be invoiced for $16,000 by the restoration co and would I send them my email. I said "No" and told them to talk to my insurance company. I called the insurance co and the rep said she had had words with them a month ago as they didn't send her estimates and they spent over the limit she had set without communicating with her After talking with them her understanding had been that I would not be billed. And she feels I shouldn't be billed. I asked her to send me a summary of her problems with them as I intend to make a complaint to the restoration co head office. Large machinery sat unused in my back yard for days and days while waiting for buddy to do his job. More than one of the workers said to me that it shouldn't have taken more than a few days. It took nearly 6 weeks. Grrrr!!!

DD thinks he is fishing to get money to sort out his problems.

Thanks for the support everyone.
.
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golden: So sorry for that aggravation. Hugs.💚
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JennyBean: Please DO come here to vent. Hugs.💛
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Another moving soap opera - a member of the CMA too. Traced the missing quote - apparently it was sent out but I didn't get it. They tried again and I got a quote but it was invoiced to a J... and H.... B....... - only the J was the right name and I made no mention of invoicing it other than to me alone. This is the company who I called and got no answer and they had no voicemail so I found their website and worked through that. The lady came 2 hours early for the estimate appointment and they messed up with sending and naming the invoice. Not impressed.

Hope the company whose rep I am seeing tomorrow is better.
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jennybean - That's a whole lot of caregiving!!! Many here have families that don't care except to criticize. Take care of yourself and come back and vent anytime. I hope you can arrange respite for yourself sometimes.
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Thx, cw. No doubt that the one with the increased quote is crooked. Even the customer service guy said that her figure was arbitrary. I let them know they lost my business. The one that is coming tomorrow is a member of the Canadian Association of Movers.
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There have been exposés done on how crooked the moving industry is Golden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUNsndIL1bg

I would try to find someone who is a member of the Canadian Association of Movers
https://www.mover.net/planning-a-move/consumer-alerts
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Asked for a quote for moving. Got a "guaranteed" one. Just got another email and they just realized this is a 3 man move not a 2 man move so the new "guaranteed" quote is about $1K higher.

Folks, I am moving into a 2 bedroom condo and not bringing my living room suite. That is NOT a 3 man move!!!

Called customer service and got some *^%$ nonsense that with 3 men they won't get as tired and it will be faster therefore cheaper. So how come the quote is $1K higher. He had no answer.

The other company I contacted, that answered, promised a quote by last Friday and I still haven't heard anything. The lady that came to assess was about my age and came 2 hours early so I am not surprised.

Back to square one I guess.
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