So my Mom has gone crazy. Raz on the March!

[LaCroix]

If you specifically recall the sound or image, you can reproduce it though, right?

fleetingly, yes, and lacking in detail or vividness--as if masked by a see-through black shroud (difficult to explain). when i daydream i see nothing, instead i sort of think abstractly. i do not think in pictures, and mental sound is almost never a factor. mnemonic techniques are also rather pointless for me, from rhyming songs to matteo ricci's memory temple

[Eddie Teach]

I have a really hard time envisioning things in my mind, but my thoughts definitely have a soundlike quality to them.

[Tamas]

You can't forget your mother, or pretend she's out of your life. She was probably a moral support to Raz, and that seems about to change.

Life sucks man. You just deal with shit as it comes along, and try to find happiness in the little things. Like having a cup of tea and reading a good book, or taking a stroll or whatever. Don't overthink it. Just deal with shit and plow through.

[Caliga]

She wants to go to Illinois, finish her medical transcription training, join the Union, and use that as a stepping stone to a career in Illinois politics. 

You had me at "medical transcription training". 

[Monoriu]

This is the first time I have ever heard of "medical transcription".  Granted, I know very little about the medical industry.  But every time I visit a doctor, I can see that he always updates my medical history himself, either using pen and paper or a computer.  I don't understand why there is a need to transcribe voice recordings into written format.  Maybe it is different on this side of the Pacific.  Maybe the doctors talk to a voice recorder after I leave.   

[CountDeMoney]

This is the first time I have ever heard of "medical transcription".  Granted, I know very little about the medical industry.  But every time I visit a doctor, I can see that he always updates my medical history himself, either using pen and paper or a computer.  I don't understand why there is a need to transcribe voice recordings into written format.  Maybe it is different on this side of the Pacific.  Maybe the doctors talk to a voice recorder after I leave.

Not surprising; modern technology isn't part of "traditional Chinese medicine".  Except when they have to transport endangered species parts packed in dry ice via FedEx.

[CountDeMoney]

For the first time in my life I really hate her.

Don't.

This is true.  You only get one Mom.

[CountDeMoney]

She wants to go to Illinois, finish her medical transcription training, join the Union, and use that as a stepping stone to a career in Illinois politics.  All at the young age of 55. Seriously.

Then she better get her passport and a work visa for India, because that's where all the med transcription business is going.

[jamesww]

You can't forget your mother, or pretend she's out of your life. She was probably a moral support to Raz, and that seems about to change.

Life sucks man. You just deal with shit as it comes along, and try to find happiness in the little things. Like having a cup of tea and reading a good book, or taking a stroll or whatever. Don't overthink it. Just deal with shit and plow through.

Wise words, from my favourite french speaking person in Canada.

[Caliga]

Then she better get her passport and a work visa for India, because that's where all the med transcription business is going.

For some reasons all the for-profit scam schools like to push medical coding and transcription "programs".  I bet Raz's mom is attending one of those.  Enjoy your debt and lack of job, lady.

[DontSayBanana]

This is true.  You only get one Mom.

Not much of a mom if she's trying to get away that desperately.  Speaking from 2 consecutive generations of experience here- my dad's dad did pretty much the same thing (I don't even know what state he lives in with his new family now), and not too long ago, my dad pulled a similar stunt- neither of them factor greatly into my life, and most of the time, I prefer it that way.  The way I see it, with so much "drama" (real or imagined) going on in their lives, it was bound to spill over into mine (and it did in the case of my dad), so now, I actually feel better for having them at arm's length.  At the time each bailed, though, it was kinda rough... you just learn to deal to avoid turning into them.

[merithyn]

I know I'm going to get lynched for this, but so be it.

Raz, your mother has a right to live her life to the fullest, and staying home to take care of two people who will never not need her is hard. It's incredibly, incredibly hard. And yes, it does "hold her back". It means she can't do a lot of the things she wants to do - like move, travel, just breath in her own house without someone wanting/needing something.

For 30 years, I watched my mom go through this. Guilt kept her there taking care of my dad through decades of ill health. He was never not ill, and in fact, was constantly being told that he probably only has five or ten years left... for 30 years. My mom dealt with it. She took care of him. She stayed a job she didn't like for the insurance, and worked well past retirement age in order to keep the insurance. She rarely traveled, and when she did it was a huge ordeal. (She had to find someone to check on Dad, she had to make sure he knew where she was at all times, and the entire time she was gone he was calling to tell her all about what was wrong with him and why her being gone was bad for him.) She never had sex, was never romanced, was never taken out dancing. Her life revolved around taking care of my dad. When he finally died, the world opened up for my mom, but by then it was too late. She didn't know what to do with it. She was 65 years old, lonely, and alone.

It's been four years now, and Mom is finally dating. She refuses to have much to do with any man who won't go out and do stuff. She's finally figured out what life can be and is doing her best to live it. Unfortunately for her, she's broke because she spent her life paying for my dad's illness, but she's figuring things out anyway. Of course, now she's 69 and with a little luck she may get one decade of her life to live just for her. Can you imagine? One decade out of eight where she gets to be her own person, doing what she wants, when she wants, with whom she wants... And what happens? My sister decides to move back to Iowa with her kids in tow so she can be there for Mom (translated: Free Babysitting).

So yeah... your mom's kids are grown. She's 55 years old, and she wants to live her life for her. Maybe it's selfish, but since it seems no one else is looking out for her or trying to figure out how to make life better for her, she has no choice but to be a little selfish. I'm sorry you're hurting, but deal with it. She has a right to a life, too.

[Malthus]

I know I'm going to get lynched for this, but so be it.

Not by me.

I was sort of thinking the same, really.

[Valmy]

I know I'm going to get lynched for this, but so be it.

Raz, your mother has a right to live her life to the fullest, and staying home to take care of two people who will never not need her is hard. It's incredibly, incredibly hard. And yes, it does "hold her back". It means she can't do a lot of the things she wants to do - like move, travel, just breath in her own house without someone wanting/needing something.

If her leaving were not likely to cause her ex and her son to lose their home and the fact that she stole $500.00 from her ex I could get on board with this.  Stealing and causing hardship to those you care about because they are cramping your style is not particularly admirable no matter what sort of dreams you are chasing.

Of course Raz could be lying about that for some reason.

[Valmy]

I know I'm going to get lynched for this, but so be it.

Not by me.

I was sort of thinking the same, really.

So if your wife stole your money and ran off you would be cheering her on?  Maybe I just cannot get over the whole 'financially screwing your ex' part.  It hits too close to home.