Mom and Me

The last three weeks have been hectic and fun filled with my Mom here visiting. I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by as she prepares to leave one week from today. We have done so many things over these weeks, been so many places, laughed so hard we cried and just thoroughly enjoyed being together.

I realize I am fairly rare. Not that many folks really enjoy spending time with a parent. I’m one of the lucky ones. It’s not a duty or a chore or a job. My Mom is one of my best friends and we truly have a blast when we’re together.

One day we went to one of our local Indian casinos to play Bingo. We went, we saw, we did not conquer. We sure tried hard but the Bingo Gods were not smiling on us. However, we also played some slot machines both before and after Bingo and I won some modest amounts. My Mom? She lost every penny she put in. She swears the machines like me!!

We have shopped till we dropped. Both of us have leg/knee issues but neither of us have any sense. We’ve hit the mall numerous times, been to Sam’s Club, seen the sights at Costco, covered the BIG Wal-mart store thoroughly and this morning we are heading for the swap meet. For two women who don’t walk so well, we are surely covering the miles. As I said, we have no sense. Although, I must admit, we have learned the advantages of the riding carts at several stores. We take turns! God forbid anything should slow us down when it comes to shopping!

I’ve run all my errands with Mom at my side. Bank, supermarket, gas station, Ford dealer, Vitamin Shoppe, Best Buy, etc. etc. etc. She just keeps hanging in there and trudging along.

We watch TV, go to the movies, read quietly, enjoy my crazy dogs, watching them swim and fetch, cook together and just generally enjoy being in the same room. This is one of those times when I so very greatly enjoy the kind of schedule I have in my work. Even though I continue to work and teach, I still have had lots of free time to spend with Mom while she’s been here. That is a blessing.

The Spouse and I leave on our cruise in just a little over three weeks and I’ve been trying on outfits and having Mom help me decide what to take. This one or that one? The gray or the black? The dressy top and pants for formal night or the dressy dress? She has a good eye for fashion and her help has been invaluable. We wanted her to go on this cruise with us and we invited her nearly a year ago at the beginning of our plans. At first she thought she might, but then, because of various health issues, she has opted not to go. We’re both sad about that as we had hoped to share this European adventure with her. We are already talking about next year’s trip and we think we may go to England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Again, we are hoping Mom will go with. She is interested. Time will tell if we are lucky enough to have her coming along.

I went to WW Friday morning and discovered to my horror that I have gained 4½ pounds while Mom has been here. I can’t say I’m surprised. I love to cook and having a houseguest is the perfect excuse to make all of the things I have not been eating these last months, a reason to bake cakes and cookies and buy candy and other fattening and delicious crap. For after all, doesn’t Mom NEED all that stuff? Any excuse to eat rich foods and bake wonderful desserts sounds good to me. I have one more week of my “wild” food fling and then back to reality. WW will be there waiting when I return to the fold, I have no doubt. Meanwhile, boy that cheesecake we bought from The Cheesecake Factory sure is good!!

All this quality time with my Mother, really makes me think about the future. How many more years of these wonderful memory making visits will we have? After all, neither of us are spring chickens anymore. I’m 62 and she’s 82. As I wrote about in my last post, I recently went to a funeral where a friend had lost his mother. I know my day will come, but I can’t even imagine the horror. Losing my Dad was hard. But when the time comes for Mom? I swear, I don’t know how I will survive it.

We certainly had our trials and tribulations when I was growing up. I was a truculent, surly brat when I was a teenager and, in hindsight, I can’t imagine how she could stand to be around me. I have no idea how she tolerated my assholiness. But thankfully, she did and we have survived and arrived at this point in our lives.

I am a very lucky woman.