Had a bit of a spat with Mama today (which caught me completely by surprise). Mara and I had been bitching a bit about USA and Ray, and were mostly rattling our sabers and talking about taking our services elsewhere. Mama had said something to Mara about how that was the reason that she worried about us taking on so much responsibility (with the house, the car, etc.).

Mara and I both took this to mean that Mama is afraid that we'll obligate ourselves to a lot of things and won't be able to pay for them because we quit our jobs. Mama had been kind of down anyway since we left, so I called her (in part to tell her not to worry; that we weren't going to do anything stupid). During the conversation I didn't notice that anything was wrong, although I did notice that Mama made a point of mentioning that sue had asked her what would happen to her if something was to happen to me (since with me gone the house would then be solely in Mara’s name). Well, a little while later Mama sent me an e-mail in which she said that after 38 years I still didn't understand her, that we had taken her wrong, and that at 71 years of age she shouldn't have to watch what she said, and so on.

As I’m writing I still don't know what to make of all this. There are obviously issues that need to be addressed. It's not Mama's way to come right out and address something. She makes references to it and hopes you will take the hint. So maybe I’ve been avoiding addressing something that's important to her; namely her sense of security. I'm sure some of her relatives have been telling her that she made a mistake signing the house over to us. Maybe we should address that.

Do I trust Mara to take care of Mama in my absence? Yes. Absolutely. But I don't think Mama does.