Suggestions on living with your mother

Sometimes, and especially for me before my mum came to live with us, the thought of living with my mum with me as an adult, certainly made me quake - after a difficult childhood full of tantrums and locking horns resulting in me leaving home at 17, for most of my adult life until my 40's, my mother and i had a very temperamental relationship - it was always her way or the highway, though i lived 250 miles away, and could terminate a phone call if she became histrionic (which unfortunately, was most of the time)... When you return to live with your mother as an adult-or she moves in with you, the issues and comments that set you off years, even decades, ago can become magnified if you let her get to you. Age and accomplishments don't give you immunity against insults and personal attacks, or the anger and resentment they create. If it's time to move in together, it's time to move on. Even if the economy or a life disruption is not forcing you back home, these suggestions may help smooth a rocky relationship you have with your mother. Attitude Adjustments 1. Change how you think about your mother. Focus on her positives rather than what you view as negative. Work around the things you believe your mother can't or won't change. Said another way, lower your expectations. You have memories of the years you lived together the first time, some divine, some not so great. Those recollections may change how you think about the new arrangement. What you remember from the past and hope to attain become expectations for the "new regime." Don't expect more than you received years ago, and you just may be pleasantly surprised. Being realistic is the most important. There will be times when you both revert to childlike behaviours on the turn of a sixpence, dont beat yourself up if this happens - i had my mum live with me twice in my forties, and then last year when she came to live with us as she was poorly. 2. Rethink how you feel about living together - especially if the circumstances underlying the move are or were unpleasant. Keep the benefits and bonuses in the forefront. Sometimes it is hard to think what the bonuses are - for me, the final time, was that i knew, nobody could look after my mum or manage her care the way i could. Despite her mental health issues and dementia, her hysteria, her technicolour life, the benefit of having her home with me was that she was safe and we had time to rebuild our relationship before she passed. 3. Understand that there will be an adjustment period, so give it time. It will work out if you and she agree that living together is the best or most sensible arrangement for now. - my mum had to live with me when i was in my forties and she was in her eighties - she could not manage as a new widow, and her physical health meant she could no longer drive or walk great distances - we tried the home care plan, but she would cancel them - in the end, she fractured her humerus and had to come - albeit begrudgingly - she did not settle and made life extremely difficult for my teenage sons and myself, but we knew there would be an end - though it was 5 long months away.... Putting Boundaries in Place 4. Boundaries separating you from mother occurred automatically when you were independent, formed either by the physical distance or the amount of contact you orchestrated. When you live together again, boundaries can blur quickly. You will want to install ground rules that reshuffle the boundaries to ensure your mother's and your freedom, comfort, and happiness. You need an enormous house!!!! If you want changes, you will have to ask for them calmly, not in an authoritative way-more in the manner you would tell a friend or partner: "I know you would want to know this." To protect your privacy, for instance, make your room off-limits. It's hard to believe, but there are mothers of adult children who enter their sons and daughters' bedrooms without warning, as if the occupant were still at junior school! You don't want your mother in your room or cleaning up after you, tell her that you will tend to these things. Or, explain that you will do your own laundry. 5. Establishing boundaries may include what's in the cupboard and put on the table. If you are dieting or have strong preferences or nutritional needs, discuss the matter, or decide you can live with your mother's choices. You can also put yourself in charge of grocery shopping to resolve food issues. 6. Because you live together doesn't mean you must spend every waking moment with each other. It's important to see friends and remain involved in whatever you did before you "joined forces" in the same house. In short, retain your separate life. If one of you is new to the area, seek out groups and organisations that interest you so you get out on your own and are not dependent on one another to fill your time. 7. Be sure to set aside alone time. You need that time to build or maintain friendships as well as to solve problems that don't involve your mother. If you can't be out of the house, go into another room. Time-Protection Options 8. For the mother who would like nothing better than to monopolise you, these time-protection options help reaffirm that you are not abandoning the home front, and will allow her to adjust her level of neediness and dependency. 9. In whatever lines you draw, explain how much you love her. If your mother does something to upset you, talk about it. Don't let it fester. She may not realise (or care!) that her comments or actions bother you, many of which can be leftovers from your relationship when you were a child growing up - remember that those years are behind you. You can be considerate without allowing your mother to overstep your physical and emotional boundaries-be they monetary or otherwise. Call on the way home to see if you should stop at the store to pick up something for dinner, or at the cleaners to retrieve the clothes that are ready. Surprise her by buying flowers for no reason or by giving her a technology lesson if you're expert in such things. In this way, a whole scheme of cooperating evolves. As you embrace a "New Normal," life together will fall comfortably into place as long as you keep your boundaries sharply delineated and secure. And, when your mother oversteps them, be sure to let her know. Remember, as well as she may understand you (or think she does), she can't know what you are thinking and feeling all the time. - though spookily, we think she does!!