so today, as i was leaving work, i checked my mobile to see if i'd missed any calls. every time i see that my mother has called me i naturally assume that something is wrong. so i see that i have voicemail from her, and called to listen to it. she left me a brief message asking me what i was doing after work and if i could please call her. nothing else, no explanation. her voice sounded a little stressed, so again i assumed the worst. my aunt hasn't been feeling well the last few weeks. my other aunt is getting up there in age. so i returned her call and she didn't pick up. so then i started thinking that maybe something was wrong with her and not one of my many relatives. i called her home phone, i called her cell phone, no answer. finally, as i'm about twenty seconds away, she called me back. she informed me that on her way to her eye appointment at 9 a.m. she locked herself out of the house. it was now 1:30 p.m. and she said that she spent the entire time sitting in her car, in the garage, trying to stay warm and trying to take a nap. since i was at work, and am the only one with a spare key, she really had no other options. the fact that this is the second time she has done this in the last eight months makes me start to wonder if she's losing it. the fact that when she calls me i naturally assume that someone has died worries me, that's always been her way of thinking. i can't believe i'm becoming my mother.