My mother in law (J) just had open heart surgery. She needs a lot of care. Already Mrs. H has spent probably 30-35 hours at her house caring for her - bathing her, doing household chores she can’t do, etc. There are companies around here that will pay you to take care of a loved one. Something something Medicare. So I want to get Mrs. H enrolled in such a program so she can get paid for this. Already, at Missouri’s $15/hr minimum wage, she’s due about $500.
Mrs. Homie will not hear of it. Somehow she has it in her head that getting paid to take care of her mother is immoral. “I’m not doing it for the money, I’m doing it for Mom,” she says, refusing to make the phone call. As Og is my witness, this woman’s sanctimonious piety when it comes to money has given me a headache at least twice in the past year.
J won’t make the phone call because I’m the social worker in the family and somehow won’t get it through her thick skull that no company is going to tell me a fucking thing because I am neither the patient nor the would-be caregiver. And Mrs. H’s brother, L, is fucking useless, as he claims that having to make a phone call and talk to a stranger gives him a panic attack.
Three adults in this family, and not a one of them can make a simple, 20-minute phone call because of three ridiculous reasons. Meanwhile Mrs. H has run herself ragged and is on minimal sleep and about to have a big crash.