Mom does not handle the transition from parenting a helpless child to being a part of an adult child’s life very gracefully. And went straight from raising a kid to running a personal, highly embarrassing emergency broadcast system.

On paper, the situation is simple. 24-year-old, moved out, working in marketing, trying to have a normal day full of back-to-back meetings and lukewarm coffee. On her mom’s screen, it is a live thriller. One missed call. Then five. Then, twenty-three plus a wall of ALL-CAPS messages about urgency and being ignored. A full-blown crisis.

And the crisis, ladies and gentleman is… drum roll… a package. Not a health scare, not an accident, not even something time sensitive. Just a box that is not showing up until next week and somehow needs immediate emotional intervention right now, during work hours.

That is the thing with this kind of parent. It is never just about the package, or the call, or that one moment. It is about the underlying belief that their kid’s time still belongs to them by default. Work is background noise. Meetings are pretend. But mom needing something that instantly jumps to top priority.

This story reminded me of one of the funniest and most embarrassing moments I’ve ever heard of that happened to my mother when she was about 17. And I think you’ll see why it relates, although as an opposite, to this girl’s story.