Whose House is it Anyway?

So, my mother-in-law moved in with us recently, and no that's not a bid for sympathy. I've always gotten along with her, which is part of what made us the logical choice when it became apparent she could no longer live on her own. I'm happy to be able to help her out, but that doesn't mean the situation doesn't have its challenges.

While she seems pretty lucid a lot of the time, we're not sure how much of that is real, and how much is an act because there's definitely come confusion going on there as well, a good part of which is centered around the question of where she lives.

See, she can't really remember the trip out here, can't remember any of the multiple conversations we had with her to discuss all the reasons why this move was a good idea.And, something that becomes increasingly clear the more she talks about it, she really can't remember where she was living before she came here.

Most of the time she seems satisfied with the idea that this is our house, although she clings to the idea that she's just visiting us and will occasionally ask about calling a cab to take her home. The last place she lived is some three thousand miles away, so I think it's safe to say a taxi is out of the question.

Sometimes, she insists that this is her house and that we're the ones visiting her. It seems it's a surprise visit, too, on our part, and  I know she's never been all that comfortable with company. So, while up until now, she's been happy to see us, I keep waiting for her to ask us to leave.

Every once in awhile, however, she becomes convinced that we're all in the wrong house. That we're trespassing (for unknown reasons, I might add). And that the police will be by any minute to either kick us out or lock us up. Last time she mentioned that I asked her to explain why she thought we'd be trespassing and she told me, "When people have no place else to go they look for empty houses to break into."

I don't know about the rest of y'all, but as a writer I have only one response to something like that, "Plot bunny!"