Parental Guidance Suggested

Remember when you were a teenager and you got all purty to go out with friends while your mom sat in her house clothes watching TV on a Friday or Saturday night? Yeah, me too. Now, contrast that to your mom getting all dolled up while you sit in the house in your pajamas on a Saturday night. Scary, isn't it? That's the situation a friend and I found ourselves in last year. Her mom was going to a party and we were both in for the night at like 7 o'clock, seeing mom off as she went out to socialize. Her daughter was already in PJ's, I was still wearing jeans but lying on the couch half-dead. And we made jokes about how pathetic it was that we were experiencing that whole child/parent role reversal thing so young. And it hasn't stopped there. I've regularly had to tell my mom not to text or use her phone at inappropriate times. Last night, we were all sitting watching TV and I looked over to see her surfing the web, totally disconnected from the rest of us and the conversations taking place. It's both interesting and terrifying to watch this reversal unfold. When I was home a few months ago there was a pretty substantial snowstorm. I went out to shovel the walk and mom bundled up to help. It always worries me when she shovels or does any other kind of yard work because she has asthma and it doesn't take much for her to start wheezing. She finished a pathway as I'd moved to the driveway and realized it was way too slippery for her to help anymore. I nearly fell a handful of times, I didn't want her to do the same so I told her to go inside. She protested, saying she would be careful and I said, "No. I can do it, go inside". Had I said that in such a tone as a teenager, or even just a decade ago, it would've been met with a swift backhand (or a snowy switch off a tree, depending on her mood). But now, she just quipped about how I was bossy and went back in the house. It'll be interesting to see how it unfolds from here on out, that's for sure.

G: Dude, I'm gonna have to take away her cards if she buys anymore home shopping junk!
Me: I know the feeling. I have to say, "Do you have to text to your friend right now?" on a regular basis yo. 
G: lol Word. Parents, dude
Me: I tell ya, they just become unmanageable after 50
G: LOL So true
Me: lol They're unruly, they back talk and they don't clean up after themselves. Last night I found myself saying, "I know you're not going to leave that empty cup on the counter". I was horrified.
G: lol Nobody said it would be this hard Giuseppe  Why didn't someone tell us how hard it would be when we were in-utero?!?!
Me: lol Dude, I'm convinced this is payback for me having crashed the party in-utero
G: LOL Probably. Tu madre is vindictive like that