My mother got a mommy makeover, and now she’s trying to compete with me for my boyfriend’s attention.
My mother raised me as a single mom for most of my formative years. As a result, she and I became very close while I was growing up. We were inseparable throughout my teenage years, and when I left for college, it was really tough for both of us to adjust to me living on campus out of state.
When I returned home from college, I came home with a renewed sense of self as well as a best friend that had filled in the gap left by my mother’s absence. I found safety and security in having a best friend my age and realized that it had been a bit unhealthy and unorthodox for my mother and me to have a relationship that functioned so much like a best friendship.
But my mother wasn’t having it. She continued to vie for my full attention and in many ways attempted to come between me and my bestie. As time went on, I would meet my current boyfriend and spend less time with my best friend AND my mother. It was just the natural progression of a relationship taking its course.
My mother is very vocal about how much time I spend with my boyfriend and informs me of her disapproval every chance she gets. I know she’s jealous of him, but I’m starting to feel like she is jealous of me as well.
She recently got her hair styled just like mine, keeps up with my nail color and switches hers out every two weeks like clockwork so that we’re always matching; she also shops at the same stores as me. I just took a week off work to care for her after she had a mommy makeover that consisted of a tummy tuck and implants. Make no mistake, my mom is in her late 50s and is hot, and now with the makeover she’s unstoppable. But she’s crossing lines and boundaries with my boyfriend, and I don’t appreciate it.
A few days ago, he was home sick, and I was working late. She took it upon herself to cook him homemade soup and take it to him to his apartment. My boyfriend told me it made him feel uncomfortable and that what she was wearing was definitely inappropriate.
She’s constantly trying to one-up me and insists on being the center of attention.
Should I call my mom out on trying to compete with me for my boyfriend’s attention or blow it off as she’s just trying to get her groove back because she’s going through a mid-life crisis?
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