Odds and ends from and reflections on yesterday

When I opened a drawer in the fridge to get salad ingredients, I saw the moldy breads and had a fit. Mom was outside watering plants (after having yelled at dad for not watering the plants).

A.: That's what she did? She took the moldy bread outside of the plastic wrapper and put it in the crisper drawer? So that the mold can spread to everything else in the drawer?
Dad: Huh. That's some moldy bread. We need to just toss it.
A.: Right.

After dinner, mom threw a fit because no one else was washing the dishes. Dad was making tea, and he and I generally agree on washing the dishes after tea. Then she was angry that no one else was watering plants, and stormed out. Dad and I had tea.

Dad: They've extended my contract again.
A.: Congratulations? Are you happy with that, or are you ready to retire?
Dad: Well... I'm ready to retire, but I'm not ready to be here full time. Can you imagine?

There we have it: the husband of the woman who just told me she knew why I was single, just stated that he wouldn't retire because she would drive him up the wall.

Dad: And if I'm here all day, I'll be able to keep my mouth shut even less. Regular screaming fits, all the time.

***
Yesterday's "outburst" regarding my unsuitability for human companionship was not mom's first. You may recall that she suggested, nearly four years ago, that I was changing jobs because I had no choice, having alienated everyone I worked with, on account of my overbearing, know-it-all personality and need to be right all the time. A couple of years before that, she lectured me, on my birthday, about talking too much and (again/already) having an overbearing personality. She was telling me this out of concern: she wanted me to have friends. I told her I had friends; she said they were just being polite.

I have to say, I've done very well for myself for someone who's such a nightmare to be around and work with. My friends and coworkers must be really, really f*ing polite and self-sacrificing.