Well, where do i even begin?
our trip started out on a bad note...with the husband and i not even speaking to each other. when we woke up in the morning (and were leaving the house at 8:30 am) i realized that i had left my Canadian citizenship card at my office. which, in a nutshell, meant that if i didn't have it, i would not be able to get back into the country. so, we hopped in the car and raced to my office.

i should have taken it as a sign. our trip was doomed from the start.

To put it bluntly, there's something wrong with my mother.
I've known it for years, but I only recently realized what is actually wrong with her.

My mother is a 2-year-old, living in a 56-year-old body.

She's married to her job, and that's about it. she has a high profile job and works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and doesn't take any breaks. so...she tends to miss out on the good things in life - her family, her friends, her grandchildren because work is her #1 priority.

so, deciding to have her three kids and two grandchildren at her house for passover was clearly a mistake. for the past 7 years or so, she's just booked us all into a hotel and not had to deal with it. and before that, my grandmother was alive and cooked and cleaned everything so all my mother had to do was show up to the seders.

this year was a bit different. she decided to cook some and cater some. now, my mother is NOT a good cook. she thinks she's a fantastic cook, though. there are a few things that she makes, but most of them come out somewhat sub-par.

so, needless to say, she was stressed out when we arrived. i didn't get a "how are you feeling?" or even a "wow - you've really grown since i've seen you last!" not even a single acknowledgement that i am 6 months pregnant.

and she still can't handle the way we discipline our children. of course, i know that it's a grandmother's job to spoil grandchildren. i know this, without a doubt. that's not what bothers me. it's that when i am allowing my child to scream in her bed, or when i refuse to sit with my daughter while she pees, or when i refuse to back down when she wants to wear her tutu outside, my mother gets all weird and quiet and starts muttering under her breath. what the hell is she thinking? does she think when she does this i'm going to say, "oh, you're right. i know nothing about parenting. i'm a horrible mother. i'm going to change my ways and begin to parent like you." um, i don't think so. she is one person i will not take parenting advice from. mostly because i don't think she's a very good parent.

i could go on and on, but i will spare you all.
i think i need some major therapy.