Catch Up

My summer job begins tomorrow, and my boyfriend arrived last week (and is already working...he is awesome!) After several fights, my mom decided that I was the reason the progress on the bedroom she promised to clean before my boyfriend's arrival was going so slow. I don't know how this could have been possible, since she didn't let me help, or even touch anything. It was pretty much a HUGE waste of my time and money to come out early (by my calculations, I could say that my mother owes me a little over $3,000 - what I would have made by not coming out a month early to help, seeing as I was not allowed to help, minus what I would have paid for the extra month of rent). She explicitly asked me to be in the house as little as possible; my presence upset her and she did not want to see my face. So, I made arrangements to do just that. I started volunteering at a theater two hours away that kindly offered me housing for the three to four day stretches I was there working for them. I did projects for friends and crashed at their houses. 

The week before my boyfriend was due to arrive, my mom started reciting a list of things she would need my help with that week. "Um, mom, I'm out of town all week. You asked me to be out of the house, and I've done quite well at it." Immediate hysterics: "I obviously didn't mean the last week! You're doing this to spite me! How specific do I have to be with you! Of course I need your help in the last week! How am I supposed to do this on my own!" 

In the last weekend, days before the boyfriend's arrival, it got done...enough. There is still a large trunk, two bookshelves, and a dresser in our bedroom (all full of my mom's stuff), but the bed is clear, there is one empty dresser for us, and just enough floor space for me to put up a standing clothes rack I bought, and for us to move around (if we both don't need to get around the bed at the same time). This was accomplished by moving all of the junk from her room into the dining room, and by an infuriating game of furniture tetris, which involved a rare show of spirit from Jack when he refused to let his dresser live in the living room ("just for the summer!"...yeah, right).

So, that's where we're at now. Tempers have been relatively low, as everyone is on their best behavior around the boy, as he is a new-comer. I'm sure it'll get interesting again, real soon.