Kat Becomes Her Mother

Bill went to the fridge one morning to get milk for his morning coffee and cereal. As the fridge door opened, the light came on as usual, but Bill could tell right away that something was wrong. The milk was not cold. Neither was anything else. All the contents of the fridge were room temperature.

He took immediate action, and by the time Kat arrived in the kitchen in her dressing gown, a service call had been booked. Kat was not happy. It’s one thing to have close family and friends in the home, but entirely another to open the door to complete strangers. She knew exactly what to expect. She’d seen the look on their faces before. The darting eyes. The raised eyebrows. The awkward silence when they realised there was nowhere for them to sit, or put down their tools.

When the repairman knocked on the door, Kat’s anxiety was already peaking. He took one look at the fridge and shook his head. He blamed the burned out motor on two things.

Kat’s resourceful use of the space surrounding the fridge with plastic grocery bags stuffed into every nook. (Where else were they supposed to go?)
The freezer and fridge compartments being over full. (Sure, some things were out of date, but everyone knows that’s just a marketing ploy to make you buy more.)

The repairman was exasperated. There was nothing that could save this refrigerator. Bill was annoyed. He could see dollar signs flying out the window. And Kat was embarrassed.

Memories of her childhood came flooding back from the time when the family fridge broke down. In that case, they didn’t have fresh milk in the house for months, only because her mother wouldn’t clear the hallway so a new fridge could be brought through the front door.

Miserable, she suddenly realised she had become her mother.

“It’s not a clutter problem”, she thought. “It’s something much bigger.”

She knew something has to change.

She remembered Violet had mentioned something she’d heard at a talk at their local library. What was it? Something about stages of change. So she turned to Google for some answers.

There it was, a really interesting chart about the stages of change. There was even a book available. She clicked the link and made the purchase. She could have chosen the ebook version but she’s a tactile person, so needs to feel it in her hands. The book was on the way.

Meanwhile, she spent some more time researching the idea of readiness for change. Kat realised she was now in the Preparation stage, characterised by her gathering of information.

Kylie stopped by after hearing about the fridge breakdown. Surely now her mum would be ready to make some changes. At least that stash of grocery bags could be thinned.

But Kat had other ideas. The hand went up at any suggestion of taking action.

Kylie said, “Oh mum, you’re so frustrating.”

Kat replied, “Kylie, you’re wanting action, and I’m only in the Preparation stage. You’ll have to wait.”

Kylie rolled her eyes but Kat wouldn’t have any of it. “Don’t roll your eyes at me,” she said. “You’ll be the same one day. We all become our mother.”