[ThisOleMiss]

Ok here's the story, my son meets this girl, either over the internet or at a sci-fi convention, and since he's rather evasive about how, I'm not sure which it is. Next thing we know she's sending him a ticket to Colorodo for a visit. No problem he's got vacation time coming. Then she's down visiting him. I get to meet her. Oy Vey. She's about five feet tall and five feet around dresses like a goth, dyes her hair dead black and is about the whitest white girl I've ever seen. Clearly I'm not impressed but I'm giving her the benifit of the doubt. Invite her out to lunch, sightseeing, shopping while he's working, she won't leave the house. She goes home, I ask what meds she's on and why. Boy gets evasive, ask point blank has she ever been hospitalized, then he tells me she's on several really heavy anti-psychoitic drugs and has been hospitalized twice (she's only 21). Gave the usual mom warnings about are you sure you know what you're getting into yada yada yada, all the good motherly advise stuff that I know he wasn't going to listen to anyway. Sure enough, he quits school, quits his job, and moves to Colorado to live with girl and her mother. Girls mother is a traveling nurse. Long story short, two years later, during which I only heard from son when he needed money, they're in San Diego, mom loses job, and the whole crew, son, daugher, and mother, demand that I GIVE them the money to move back to Florida. I offer my son a ticket home. Mom and daughter get pissed. My in box is flooded with mail about how it is my duty to help them out since boy has been living with them for the last two years, yada yada yada, and from girlfriend, all his 'problems' are because I was such a lousy mother. Now son is 24 years old. Girl is 22. Told both of them that if you're old enough to shack up like adults you could damn well pay your own rent, and if her mother was stupid enough to put up with it, that was her, not me, grow up and act like adults, and btw, the next time I want idiot-girl's opion on something, I'll ask for it. So now I'm the Evil Witch of the South. There comes a time when you got to cut the old apron strings. I don't mind helping out, but, damn, don't go telling me what I have to do.

Did I mention neither son or girlfriend have been able to get and keep jobs. The traveling nurse thing means they move about every three months, not even enough time to get a temp job anywhere, not to mention going to school for any type of training. Oh and girlfriend has a large colorful tatoo approximatly the size of a dinner plate on her chest that's nearly impossible to cover up.

Opinions, folks. Did I do the right thing? I'm convinced I have.