Just Another Story. More About My Mother #12.

Page 39.
     My mother did occasionally cross over to paranoid psychosis. One day when I was in the 6th grade, she woke me up in the middle of the night and told me that I should cooperate with "Them" because "They" were trying to help. I, a 12 year old boy, responded "I'm not going to buy into your paranoid delusions. Now go back to sleep." I wish I were exaggerating this, but I'm not. The exact conversation was longer. She listed names of people who were in on the plan and I did ask her a couple of questions prior to telling her to go to sleep. But really, you get the gist of it.  With my response, she smiled and went back to sleep. No word was ever uttered between us about that exchange.
     She woke me up one other time that same school year.
     I asked her for some help with my pre-algebra. She couldn't figure it out so I decided to skip it and ask the teacher the next day. However, she woke me up, again at 2AM, with the problem figured out, solution and all. She'd then printed it, beautifully, in Magic Marker, with different colors, on white typing paper. It was very artistic. She explained that she wanted to make sure I got it in case she was asleep when I left for school. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt concerning her explanation. However, if it had been me, I'd have left it on the table or some other very obvious place. I think that waking me up was simply her first idea, so that's the one which was put into action. Never, ever again, literally, would I ask her for school help - as a direct result of this situation.
     I've previously mentioned that Jane was extremely upset by Watergate. I believe that she strongly identified with Nixon and psychologically deteriorated along with the scandal's growth. She even talked with me about her enemy list and how everybody has them.
     I'm sure that she was very manic at that time and her mania occasionally evolved into paranoid delusions.