my apologies for how long this is-

so, i am spending a few days with my mother for mother's day. she and my father divorced a year ago after 30 years of marriage and she is bitter, angry and generally has a negative world view.

i have not lived with her for several years, and i love her to death, but spending time with her for extended periods of time is emotionally draining and taxing to my mental state and well-being.

most of her conversations and topics of interest are complaining about this or that, talking about other people in a mean way, talking about my dad (all the time), and just being a negative nancy.

does anyone else encounter this with their mother? she was definitely "alpha widowed" and dwells constantly. she reveals information about things that happened when i was kid between her and my dad that is just tmi. i guess now that i am older, she views me more as a friend and confidant than daughter, especially since she doesn't have many friends or people in her life. she moved 2 hours away so i don't see her frequently, but talk on the phone a lot (which is bearable)

i don't want to come off like i am ungrateful for her or don't love her - i do! i have done a lot of work on myself and learned how not to be a negative, nagging, complaining person, and being around her bad attitude is contagious, and makes me feel guilty for feeling repelled by it.

any suggestions/support/etc is greatly appreciated! i guess i just need reassurance that i will not end up like her, and that my unhappiness is not unwarranted.

tl;dr - staying with alpha widowed mom who is negative and it's putting me in a bad mood and challenging my rpw mindset