Through serious themes of obsession and addiction, “Mom is in Love with Randy Travis” displays the dangers of love in estranged relationships. The family’s experience depicts the consequences of one engaging in an obsessive love pursuit for country artist Randy Travis. As seen in the text, it serves as a lesson about the horrors of limerence and its effect on those around you.
Addictions don’t just affect the addicted, they affect everyone around them. An example of this phenomenon is creating bad feelings in relationships. As recollected by the daughter, “Hoping for some of this Randy Travis love to brush off on him, my father started wearing these cowboy boots my mother got for him at a garage sale. Pretty soon, he was wearing jeans and
…show more content…
When the pipe in the kitchen sink clogged and my father didn’t know how to fix it, my mother said, “Oh, I bet Randy Travis knows how to do that.” (p.3) In the first quote, the father is attempting to dress like Randy Travis, hoping to receive love, affection, and attention from the mother, as she had become obsessed with the original Randy Travis. Copying his style, and mannerisms, hoping some would brush off him. The second quote proves how extreme her obsession was. Randy Travis was exclusively the topic she could talk and speak about. The explanation for these two quotes is to prove how her addiction and obsession lead to jealousy within the marriage. Using the first quote, the father aims to get something out of imitation: the Randy Travis love. Considering how the mother only spoke and thought about Randy Travis, it lead to less affection and attention to her husband, which lead to jealousy for the singer. By imitating the singer, he would hope to be shown affection like he was Randy Travis. The significance of this is …show more content…
Instead, she opts for cooking frozen dinners, which were pre-made meals that only need to be heated up. This is because the mother could have more time to listen to Randy Travis if she avoided cooking meals which took effort. The foods the father wanted were all dishes that you needed to dedicate some time and effort to, referring back to how “it took time to ferment fish sauce…”. The mother desires to listen to Randy Travis, and if she were to cut out a main portion of her daily routine, she would have a lot of time to herself. The significance of this quote is to represent how damage could be done in relationships, due to addictions. By not wanting to allocate time to her daily priorities, everyone in the family suffered. In their family, the mother took on more responsibilities around the home, while the father was responsible for income and working for the family. The mother's infatuation with Randy Travis limits her productivity and willingness to cook the dishes her father wants, which ultimately can strain their relationship. Neglecting your duties in a collaborative relationship will lead to consequences felt by the other