One of the benefits to both of my parents being 2 hours away (one is 2 hours north; the other's 2 hours south) is that they don't randomly show up on my doorstep.

Except for last week when my mother did exactly that. Which she has never done before. And I am still pretty unsettled by this.

She was in the neighborhood (her orthopaedic surgeon is based out of the nearest hospital to me) but didn't think to give me a heads' up that she'd be in the area at all ... or ask if it was OK if she came over.

I don't have the kind of relationship with my mother that a lot of my friends have and I am OK with it. It's best for my mental health to keep her at arm's length.

My first floor is pretty messy right now because I'm still in post-vacation/pre-school cleanup mode (DD doesn't head back to school until September 5th, which is the worst) and I tend to spend my days wearing really ratty clothes because I don't go anywhere unless I have errands to run.

The last thing I needed was a random drop-in from my mother (with her husband in tow) while I'm trying to put stuff in order! (Or binge-watch some Netflix. Either way, I want to be alone.)

And because I was so stunned, I didn't say anything. If I'm being honest, it's less about the fact that it was inconvenient and more that it felt pretty intrusive.