I have a sort of estranged relationship with my mom. My parents got divorced when I was twelve and I have had somewhat limited off/on contact with her since then (appx 17 yrs). In 2002 she went off her medication for paranoid-schizophrenia and decided to move in with my (half)brother in Florida. A few months after moving down there, she had a falling out with him and his family and ended up moving into her own place. She actually lived in 4 or 5 different places in Florida, moving into a new place every time she had a paranoid episode and thought people were stalking her or taking things out of her apartment and then mysteriously putting them back.

I went down to visit her a couple of times. Not really fun. One time, I had put my wallet in my shorts pocket when we went somewhere, and then later after we got back to her apartment I couldn’t find it – turns out it fell out of my pocket in the car and everything was OK. A year or two later, she turned that story into “someone came into the apartment and took your wallet and put it in my car!”

In early 2005 I told her I couldn’t come to visit because I couldn’t justify the expense. A couple weeks later she decided to move back to Traverse City so she could “be close to me”. In fact, she moved into the same apartment complex as me and Bart (right across the parking lot from us), and even told the management that I recommended her, when I didn’t. She eventually got evicted when she fell behind on her rent payment and was also having “people living in the attic” psychotic episodes and calling the police all the time.

That was about this time last year. Through the winter I concentrated on work and distanced myself from her (easy to do when she wasn’t living 20 steps away). I even went so far as to write a letter with guidelines for our interaction, but of course she wouldn’t follow them, and called my cell phone constantly, while I was at work, etc. Eventually I quit answering my phone when I knew or suspected it was her. So, the last time I officially heard from her was back in March or April, I think. She also quit showing up unexpectedly at my Dad’s house (I think that’s because he actually started locking the doors).

She may have had her car repossessed. I know that Ford Financing called my dad quite a bit since she left his number (and/or address) as a contact with them.

So, she’s not really missing, I guess. Just that no-one has heard from or of her for over six months now. I could probably find her if I put some effort into it and made some phone calls, but I don’t think I want to. I don’t feel like opening up that can of worms again, so to speak.