Fishgate, moneygate....everything is a scandal

My mom has to keep her bank balance under $2000, this is a requirement of staying poor and qualifying for benefits. At first this was not a problem, but once we finally had enough support in place she actually was accumulating money. The money that was theoretically budgeted for new shoes and hair cuts etc. For a while she seemed to think it was a joke that her balance would go over and so finally her social workers put in place a money manager. My mother calls this person "the woman who does the math". Her name is Jessica and she pays the bills and takes excess cash out of the bank. Like a good welfare queen my mother uses that cash for luxuries like vodka and take out Chinese. The cash is in a bank envelop in a (redacted for security) . Earlier in the week she ran out of vodka and asked me to get some, and so I said give me $40 and lo'.....The envelope of cash was gone. My mother said the money must have been all spent . Having seen the envelope just a few days before and knowing no cash would have been spent I was exasperated. Mother scrapped up $15 in singles and loose change from various locations and I ended up buying a small bottle of 40 proof kosher vodka as it was the cheapest option in a liqueur store in Chintown where I suspected I would find a bargain.

The next day I vacuumed under her bed and what did I find but the cash. Mother exclaimed "we're rich" and speculated that she would like to buy fish. I said I was going to Chinatown again - this led to a long complicated description of exactly which of the many fish stores in Chinatown she thought I should go. Here I will point out that it has been at least 5 or 6 years since my mother was in Chinatown. In any case when it came time to fork over the money for the fish , she changed her mind about spending money on fish. That is until this morning when she wanted to know where the fish was.

Wednesday is a farmers market ,  I went to whole foods for a bit of flounder 8$ for one serving! and green beans and corn on the way back. I am not adequately describing the drama , confusion and yelling that each step entailed. As for silver lining, The switch from 80% to 40% proof vodka, might be a god send.