...deep breaths...

(Monday, March 17)

From the moment we are born, our parents shelter us, clothe us, feed us, love us and advocate on our behalf. What happens when those roles slowly begin to reverse?

My mom was rear-ended back in early February. The man in front of her stopped to let someone out of their parking spot, my mom stopped, but the man behind her (and the man behind him) did not stop. The man directly behind my mother then got out of his car, ran up to my mother's window, and yelled at her for stopping. Ultimately, this man's horrible behavior, which did not stop there, caused my mother to have an episode akin to a panic attack, until she was capable of spitting out the words to leave her alone until the police came.

No one was hurt in the incident, and all the damages are minor, but my mother has been on a six week quest to have her back bumper fixed, to no avail.

I was furious after hearing the story. All I really wanted to do was punch the man who yelled at my mother in the face, but I decided I'd settle for getting her bumper fixed. I called her insurance company (the adjustor didn't return my mother's five calls) and was transferred to someone else who began the process of taking care of the issue.

I spoke to another insurance company's adjustor (this is really ridiculous but initially my mother's insurance company told her she needed to call the insurance company of the guy who had hit her!) who had, a few weeks prior, misread the police report and also yelled at my mother telling her that she had hit his client. Hilarious, considering my mother was rear-ended. Just a total idiot. Not once did he apologize, instead shifting blame to say that the police report was difficult to read and it was semantics! Semantics! He then tried to yell at me. How do you think that went over?

Within 24 hours, my mother's insurance company called and said they would send someone out to assess the damages and have the car fixed.

This is a strange, new role to consider. I've never had to do something like this before, though I frequently have to consider how I will take care of my parents when I am so far away. But as time continues to pass, this will likely become more and more commonplace in my visits with my parents, and I'm hopeful that I will be resilient and brave enough to advocate on their behalf.