Anonymous wrote:You have been upgraded to family mode. No longer getting the guest treatment. It means make yourself at home a bit more.
This. I know perhaps you don't want to overstep in her kitchen, but if she's invited you to help yourself or disappeared through lunchtime and you had to make something for yourself or go hungry, you have a green flag to just take care of yourself. It's fine to say things like "Larla, I'm getting hungry so I was going to heat up some leftover for lunch. Do you want to join me or will you grab something later."
If you make something and she says "Oh, I was going to make us all pasta" you can say "Oh, sorry, I didn't know. You and John can still have it and if there is any left I will have some tomorrow."
Also, there is a good chance she has asked your son to step up his hosting and he simply isn't or he said "oh, my mom will be fine." This really isn't on her as a hostess.