Last night - again - the Mom went home on the Biggest Loser. How many times over the nine seasons have we watched this happen? Mom and son/daughter are a team on the show and as soon as they go below the yellow line, the mom stands up and makes a tearful plea to the rest of the group to allow her s/d to please, please, please stay on the show and usually the plea is respected and delivered. And the mom goes home. I get why she asks to go - she's the nurturer, the caretaker. She's the reason her s/d is on the planet. But I think there's more. I think all those moms are feeling guilty about their child's weight. With their complicity in the child's eating disorder. After all, they were most likely the one who grocery shopped, who planned the menus, who put the food on the table, who provided all the treats and trips to the icecream store. And so they sacrifice themselves because of the guilt they feel about thier own involvement. But isn't the fact that they always put their kids (husbands, friends, jobs, house, laundry, errands, bills, pets, etc) first part of their problem? They are so busy taking care of and tending to the other people and things in their lives that they completely forget to take care of themselves. And I'm guilty of this as well. It takes time to take care of yourself. Time at the gym. Time planning menus. It's easier somehow to just let it all go and end up wearing mumus and long flowery scarves. Or sweatshirts with bling. But as you watch the transformation on every season of The Biggest Loser - underneath the sweatshirts and the scarves and the mumus are strong vibrant women just waiting to be uncovered. Just once I'd like to have the son/daughter part of the team stand up in front of the house and say, "Please send me home. My mom has been doing everything for everyone for so many years and she really deserves to be here. It's time for her to take care of herself." But on the other hand I seem to remember that Biggest Loser Helen did stay - and I think I remember thinking that she was a bitch for letting her - daughter I think? - go home. Hmmmmmmmm.