boundaries and privacy

[bibliophile birds]

perhaps you could give her something that she can help you with .... something benign that won't make you feel like a child, but will give her day a special purpose....to take care of you

i jokingly told her today that if she really wanted to be motherly and helpful she was more than welcome to clean the chicken coop which is in DESPERATE need. she didn't take me up on my offer.

 

[lalaland]

hey, I would add just one more thing: have you told your mom about living in a tent where everyone KNEW that you shouldn't ever touch someone else's stuff? so she knows you aren't used to it and coming from a place where your first reaction is to be totally appalled?

might help her to back off a little to understand that you were living a very different life ...

 

[bibliophile birds]

yeah, she knows what my living conditions basically were. i did try to make it sound more like an extended camping trip/safari than the reality of what living in a refugee camp (even as a Western aide worker) is like. that is just so far outside her realm of understanding, though. like i said, i've tried to shield her from a lot of the unpleasantries of my job.