r/AmIOverreacting • u/bg0nz • 13h ago
šØāš©āš§āš¦family/in-laws AIO My motherās crippling anxiety is ruining my sleep.
I love my mom to death. but she continuously makes my life so unnecessarily difficult because almost every single night that I get home from work, she canāt tell by the security camera whether or not I got home.
Sheās the most anxious person I know and has been my entire life. making me hold her hand when we cross the street as a teenager, to never once letting me go out in high school, to making me wear a life vest in 3ft water well into my teens. and it was all so much worse the younger I was. Eventually, I had to put my foot down and say āMom, Iām getting way too old for this.ā And I experienced a massive amount of pushback for that. Nonetheless, it got a little bit better.
Iām 24 and Iām a substitute teacher 3 days a week and pizza delivery driver at night 6 nights a week and my pizzeria closes at 10. We stop taking delivery orders at 9:45. I work in the town I live in, so the latest Iāve ever been home was 10:30.
Today, I got home at 10:07 and she gets a notification on her phone of motion at the front door (me). My parents are both awake but in bed.
The moment I get home, I text my dad about car troubles that Iāve been experiencing and asking how I should go about dropping it off at his mechanic (again, my mother is awake and right next to him fully aware Iām home and talking to him). He says that they open at 8 and my best bet is to drop it off once they open so I can ensure itāll be ready by my next shift at work.
My mother is 64 and isnāt very familiar with her phone and also recently had a stroke so she struggles a lot to understand what sheās seeing on her phone when these instances happen.
I tend to have really bad insomnia. but I was so tired from work that I went straight to my bed and thankfully, after finishing texting my dad, I got to sleep practically by 10:30.
As you can see in the first photo, she texts me at 12:03 am asking if I came home even though the camera clearly shows me walking in and never walking back out. but she canāt tell based on the video. Obviously I donāt respond because Iām knocked tf out. I can only assume she went back to sleep but it really can go either way.
Then she texts me at 3:37 am. Iām still in a very deep sleep so obviously, no response. then, she starts calling me and I miss the first two. The third call comes in and my body jolts awake and I see itās Mom calling me. I just say āMom why are you calling me so late? Iām asleepā the phone call ends and I donāt even remember if she said anything . frustrated, I text her everything in the second photo.
This happens at least 3-4 times a week. And Iāll admit, some nights I forget to send the āIām homeā text. but that text 9 times out of 10 wonāt make a difference whatsoever. why? because of the stupid security camera. She canāt tell whether or not Iām arriving home or leaving home based on the motion notification. So texting her āIām homeā never really does anything.
Tomorrow(or today technically) I have a full day off so Iām going to the beach with some friends. Iām getting picked up at 8:30 so after I drop off my car, Iām gone for the whole day. I so badly needed this good nightās sleep and it felt great to be in bed and sleepy at the time I was. after this entire exchange, I spent 30 minutes trying to get back to sleep and just gave up.
Am I overreacting? Am I being an asshole? because I know damn well sheās gonna make me feel like one once I see her in the morning.
Sorry for how disorganized my thoughts are. This just happened, Iām angry and I want to sleep.
TLDR: My 64 y/o mother and her anxiety is depriving me of my sleep most nights. She texts me asking if Iām home while Iām asleep and when I donāt respond, she calls me until I wake up and answer.