The above idea created by Jeffrey Waldman and Dave Harmatz in San Francisco
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Pre-Mother’s Day Musings
(Last summer with Mother)
It is an overcast morning in formerly “sunny” Southern California today. Grey clouds and a chance of “drizzles” will continue through tomorrow and Monday. Just perfect, I say with sarcasm. My mother will be arriving tomorrow to spend the dreary days in my abode that, at its best, is one cold non-insulated barn in anything less-than-80-degree-plus weather.As the years go by, my mother has become increasingly sensitive to cold environments, and when visiting me in the cooler months, complains about it on every chilly visit. I wrap her in warm throws, turn the heat up to tropical degrees, then slink away from the thermostat after yet another shivering comment of “I’m freezing” choking from her vocal chords. Poor baby, she'll have to go through all of this once again.
Timing IS everything. Until yesterday, it had been a week of high temp’s in the area. I spent most of the heat wave at home in shorts, brief tops and thatch-woven thongs. My mother would have been in her element. But Noooooo. She will have to experience another artic expedition to the city of Angels while I will be in a quiet battle with the home’s owner over the higher-than-usual use of heat for the two and a half days of her visit.
The positive part of the inevitable downside is that I am fortunate to have a mother who is not only nearby, but still zipping around in a car and not yet in need of a walker. In fact, she buzzes through her life with the determination and energy of the best social coordinator I know.
Although she moved to this state years ago at an age when it isn’t easy to begin anew with only a few friends at the beginning, within a year she was involved with several local charities, clubs, and at least 4 different groups who love to play cards and board games. Before I knew it, there she was – in her local paper on a float in a parade waving to the crowds as a rep from one of the organizations to which she belonged.
Next, there was another picture in the paper of her with others in various attire for a Senior Fashion Show. She loves to dress up and waltz around in pretty things. You GO, Mother! (Not allowed to call her “Mom” – it’s a long story……)
I love that my mother remains busy, involved in her community no matter where it may be, and that she retains a youthful spirit. She and I have had our rocky times over the years; however, the so-called wisdom of age and being an only child tends to soften the edginess of dissent on both sides of our DNA coin. The truce on her end could be that she has resigned herself to my tendency to not be a carbon copy of her in most ways other than physical hereditary and a tendency toward perfectionism in our environments.
On my end, I’ve come to the realization that she is capable of being not only a mother but a friend to me…as am I to her now that she has decided to be open to my pointers on how to handle harpy older women. And wow – there are lots of those devious old crones licking their cracked lips to diss on whoever didn’t show up to a meeting or event. It turns out my advice is helping...which is great!
.
But on to a slightly amusing Mother’s Day story. It’s helpful that she has now grown to prefer my cooking for the special dinner rather than going out. It adds a lovely personal touch to the day, and then, on the following Monday, we go out for lunch after a round of shopping. This arrangement is working.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)