This is another post about my mom. She is so fun for me to be around. She tells great stories on herself.
The latest one is that she was feeling really brave after she realized she could drive again, since the pain in her knees from a recent fall no longer kept her from driving her vehicle. She decided she would attempt to take the car through the drive-thru carwash. This would be only her second time ever!
She did great! She lined up just right and pulled forward as directed by the carwash attendant. At the perfect spot, the attendant gave the direction for her to stop driving forward, then did his best “Vanna White” arm movement along the vertical sign directing Mom to put the car in Neutral, take her foot of the brake, and do not touch the steering wheel.
Mom was so proud of herself for doing such a good job so far. Until… the car would not move. She got nervous. The attendant was making his best motion for Mom to roll down her window. She could not understand immediately what he was wanting her to do. She finally realized, and rolled her window down. The attendant ask if Mom’s car was in neutral. She looked down at the gear shifter and motioned for him to see that it definitely was in neutral. She was so perplexed! Then, the attendant asked if her foot was on the brake. She exclaimed, “Oh dear!” And sheepishly grinned up at him as she removed her foot from the brake.
That is all it took and she was on her way through the suds and water. She thought to herself, “Maybe next time I will get it right… Maybe next time….”
It is not easy to become independent and responsible for everything at age 82 when, for over 60 years, Dad was right there to do it all for her.
Tuesday, I took my mom to the doctor to discuss the pain in her knees. His office retook X-rays of her knees and said there was nothing broken. He gave her a cortisol injection in both knees, said she probably has a “bone bruise” from her last couple of falls, and sent her on her way.
She was thrilled there were no limitations placed on her (except for the excruciating pain she has been feeling) so she was free to attend the outdoor concert with her friends by the river. These friends and my mom have all lost their husbands. So, they really enjoy their “girls night out.”
The friend who picked my mom up drives a minivan so all of their friends can fit. (There are five women in total who ride to the river together.) She put my mom’s walker behind the back seat in the van. As she closed the hatch, she looked my way, then walked over next to me and asked if there are any restrictions or instructions from the doctor that she should be aware of.
Mind you, my mom’s friend just recently decided to get up off her “deathbed” and start “living life again.” She hardly eats anything. She is so small and frail, looks like skin and bones. She is younger then my mom by 3 years, but looks older than her (from all of the weight loss). I almost couldn’t contain my reaction when she asked me about my mom’s restrictions and then said she will take care of her the best she can. It was so sweet of her, but…really? Oh my! I thought later that I should have asked if her she was given any instructions or restrictions from her doctors and should I go along to help take care of all of them?
My mom’s friend is my friend’s mom.
My friend and I met in the 2nd grade. (We are almost retirement age and our moms are in their early 80’s. Well, I guess maybe her mom is only 79 or so.) Anyway, we went to school together, even double-dated in high school. We both married navy guys who each go by the same name. They have different legal names, but go by the same name. We were each other’s bridesmaids in our weddings. We kept in touch when she moved out of state to the upper Northwest and when I moved out of state to the upper Midwest. We sent cards and letters over the years to keep updated about our kids and our lives. We were the best of friends. But, distance and time can change things.
Mostly, misunderstandings can change things.
We are both back in the same town where we grew up. Unfortunately, we had a couple of falling outs over the years and she even stopped talking with me for several years. We are back on speaking terms and we try to get together with our husbands for dinner every now and then, but the closeness will never be the same.
My friend and I have both lost our dads. She lost her dad to covid in 2020. I lost my dad to watershed strokes in 2024. I am hopeful, that soon, my friend’s mom, my friend, my mom, and I can get together for lunch or something. That would be such a cool moment, all of these years later.
“Mom, do you want to go to see a movie with us at the theater?”
She said, “Yes, I would like that. it has been a long time since I have seen a movie at the theater.”
As a child, Mom got to see movies for free anytime she wanted because her dad, my grandpa, ran the movies at the theater in the small town where she grew up. She and her sisters spent a lot of time watching those old reel movies that their dad played.
She asked what movie we were going to see. I told her it is a movie called “Last Breath,” a true story about the rescue of a seasoned deep sea diver.
Mom does not have as much pep in her step as she used to, so we walked slowly from the parking lot to the theater building. We arrived early so we could pay for our tickets and purchase popcorn and drinks and find good seats. There were not many people in the lobby. We were able to walk right up to the counter and make our purchase. Apparently, it has been awhile since we have been to a movie because upon purchasing a ticket to the see our specific movie, the guy behind the counter pointed to the screen in front of me and asked us to choose our seats for the duration of the movie. That was a first! There were only 4 or five that were taken already, so we picked the perfect seats directly behind the wall which was located behind the handicapped area.
Mom was happily impressed that the tin bucket of popcorn even had a handle, which made it easier to carry with her drink as we walked to the napkin counter to pick up napkins and straws for our drinks. I always get fruit punch to drink with my buttery popcorn at the theater. It is the best combo!
We made our way to the theater at the end of the long hallway passing theater after theater rooms. The ads were already playing as we made our way to our chosen seats. The first challenge was to open the seat while holding a drink in one hand and popcorn, napkins, and the straw in the other hand. I backed up to my seat and slowly and gently slid it open as I sat down. My mom tried the same thing. Hers was more of a PLOP right down than a gentle sliding of the seat. She exclaimed she thought she was going straight down to the ground. We had a good laugh as we settled in, placing the drinks in the holders, removing our jackets, and placing the tins of popcorn on the napkins our laps. I’m sure Joe was picturing a scene from the Three Stooges, but he was the smart, cool one. Haha.
The ads on the screen were not the local ads we were accustomed to seeing. These were national ads that we see on TV. I guess they had to keep the movie theaters afloat somehow. National ads pay more, I’m sure.
When the movie finally started, we were sucked right in. Woody Harrelson played his part well. They all did. The movie was suspenseful and every time something unexpected popped up, my poor mom nearly jumped out of her seat! We had a few good laughs, enjoyed the popcorn, and a great movie together.
I am so grateful for a mom who is willing to experience new activities or ones she has not done in a long time, even in her eighties!
Joe and I were lying awake this morning talking about life as we like to do these days. He said living with me has been like living life at an amusement park.
“What?! How so?”
He said sometimes you go and have so much fun you can hardly stand it. Sometimes, you are at the park with thousands of people and you feel all alone. Sometimes you are there with thousands of people and you feel like you are caught up in all of the fun and excitement right along with them.
At times it feels like being on a giant roller coaster and your stomach is in knots with every twist and turn. One minute you are on the highest high the next minute you are at the lowest low. Just when you feel like you are getting used to the ride, it comes a screeching halt.
It feels at times like you are playing all the right games and all you can do is win. You are walking around as proud as a peacock with your arms full of prizes. Then there are times you feel like you can’t win for losing, no matter how hard you try.
Sometimes, the food is so good it leaves you wanting more and other times all you want to do is find the nearest McDonalds, Wendy’s or Taco Bell.
When the temperature feels just right, you could linger for hours, but when it is too hot or too rainy and cold, you can’t make your way out fast enough.
But, no matter the weather, environment, or the mood. We are always walking through it all…. hand-in-hand… together. Awww….
Isn’t that sweet?! Like ice cream melting in the hot sun and dripping down the cone all over your brand new shoes. Haha!
My husband had a nerve stimulator placed in his back about six years ago. The battery in the stimulator he chose is not rechargeable, so the battery died. Today, he had surgery to replace the battery pack over the back side of his hip. The hope was that the doctor could just disconnect the battery pack from the leads going up his back near his spinal column and reconnect the new battery to those existing leads.
No such luck. The doctor had to open an incision in his back to remove the old leads and place the new ones, to which the new battery could connect. Joe asked the doctor to just put a zipper in his back to make a replacement of the battery and leads easier in six years when it needs to be done again. Dr. P thought that was a good idea, but his sewing skills must not be advanced enough for that because I do not see a zipper in his back.
Now we wait and hope that no infection develops. *Fingers crossed*
I love November! Halloween, probably my least favorite holiday, is over. It is a beautiful time of year with the lovely colors of the changed leaves against the background of an often bubblegum pink and blue sky as the sun sets in the west.
It is a wonderful time of year to reflect on all of the things, experiences, and people we have to be thankful for. The stores start filling up with Thanksgiving decor, and with Christmas fast approaching, the shelves begin to fill with Christmas trees, stocking, ornaments, dishes, and more. The cinnamon smell of pine cones permiates the air when walking through the entrance at several of the local markets and big box stores.
It is time to break out the sweaters and jackets when spending time outdoors. Indoors, the fireplace is lit and steaming hot chocolate in a large mug topped with marshmallows, warms my hands as I wrap my fingers as far around the mug as possible.
There is a chill in the air, but there is no snow on the ground in Idaho yet. So, my husband and I thought it would be a great weekend to deliver for Uber Eats and DoorDash. Actually, on Friday evening, we delivered for Amazon…in a small college town about a half-hour north of us. It was a relatively small order of 21 packages. It took a total of three hours, including drive time there and back.
Yesterday and today, we drove for Uber Eats and DoorDash, depending on how busy either one was. It was so much fun! We enjoy delivering because it gives us time to talk.
Also, my husband sees some crazy things sometimes when he is sitting in the car waiting for me while I go into the various restaurants to pick up the orders. Today, the craziest thing he has ever seen happened.
We stopped at Big Bear Diner this morning to pick up a breakfast order for someone who ordered through DoorDash. The brown bag with skinny handles was a very convenient way for the store to package up the order for us gig drivers.
When I arrived back at my car with the bag in hand, my husband said, “You are not going to believe what just happened!” He said he was watching out his passenger side window at the busy four lane street the parking lot was next to. He said it was very busy and there were cars that were stopped at the stoplight. There was a white car with a middle-aged woman driver who wanted to make a right turn from the right turn lane. However, the line of cars was so long that they were stopped back far enough that she could not get past them to access the right turn lane.
She took matters into her own hands. With visible frustration on her face, she pulled her car up on the sidewalk and passed all of the cars until she could finally reach the open turn lane where she dropped back down off of the sidewalk! Good thing there were no pedestrians walking on that stretch of the sidewalk at that moment!
I’m so thankful no one got hurt. Next time, my husband will be ready with the video recorder on his phone. He said he was so astonished at this woman’s actions that he could hardly think of what to do except watch in disbelief that she was driving on the sidewalk.
Ahhhh… November. What a crazy, beautiful, wonderful time of year.
My daughter is the one who started naming her cars and encouraged us to name ours. My first named car was a pearly white Infiniti. We named her Pearl. It was a perfect fit. After Pearl there was our Red Chrysler 300 named Ruby. She was my favorite car. What a beauty! I guess it’s ok to have favorite cars since they are inanimate objects with no feelings, right?
So, we traded Ruby for a black GMC truck we just named Jet, and we bought a little Black Kia Niro that we use for delivering Uber Eats and Door Dash. Her name is Olive. She is a hybrid that gets super good gas mileage in town at 44 mpg.
Yesterday, Me and Olive (yes, I know it should be Olive and I) went through the drive-through at Culver’s for a single-scoop Flavor-of-the-Day treat. The total for my order was just over three dollars. I handed my debit card to the bubbly girl at the window. She ran the card, but did not immediately hand it back to me. She got a look of concern on her face and started talking to a coworker.
It wasn’t difficult to guess what happened. She looked my way and apologized. I asked (for confirmation) what had happened. She explained that she accidentally charged my card for an order that was not mine. I asked how much the order was. She said it was just over $17. Gulp!
Behind her, there was a conversation taking place between a young man and an older female coworker. I could hear just enough to catch that he may have been the reason for the mistaken charge on my card.
I turned my attention back to the bubbly but concerned young lady, who was still waiting for a manager to come from the back to help her solve this issue. I said I would just pay for that order. A look of relief washed over her. She asked if I was sure. My thought was, well, either I need to pretend I just purchased a single scoop of ice cream at a county fair price or we wait for who knows how much longer for someone to come to the rescue. I replied that I was sure, asking which car behind me made the purchase I was paying for. (It didn’t really make a difference other than to satisfy my curiosity.) She said it was the car directly behind mine. She then said that was so nice of me! All of her bubbly happiness had returned and was oozing out through that little window. Since i was paying for that order, she was going to give me my ice cream for free!
Just then, the manager appeared from the back. She explained to him our plan, but he put the money back on my card and charged me the $3 for my melted ice cream. The store was not going to lose money on this manager’s watch. Nope!
The people in the car behind me were none the wiser. I am sure their patience was growing thin as they wondered what could be taking so long, not knowing they almost had their meal for free. All because one young man in the chain tapped my order on the screen too soon.
As Olive and I pulled away, I hoped they were not impatient with the bubbly girl at the window. I also started thinking about how we are all links in chains of events… each link, an important part of the chain….
They say anxiety may be caused by having too much cortisol in your system, like your body’s autonomic system is in constant “fight or flight” mode, which encourages your body to release the cortisol hormone. It is as if you are being chased by a bear when there is no bear in sight. It is not healthy for your body to be in a constant feeling of underlying fear or fight.
Do you know what helps reduce that feeling? EXERCISE! So keep walking or running. It is good for your health.
Isn’t that a fun word to say! It is a humorous sounding word for a not so humorous situation. It means commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views.
I’m guessing there will be a kerfuffle or two in families over the next few weeks as we approach the “voting season.” Maybe there were one or two kerfuffles over the debate last night! Hee Hee!! 🙈🙉🙊
I like to blog for the challenge of filling the blank canvas (screen) with a thought or two. Plus, I love seeing the words fill the page.
Back in 2010, I started a blog because my friend and I were walking and talking and laughing and I said that we should write down some of our funny experiences from our daily walks. As it turned out, she was funny when talking, but could not convert those same thoughts in writing. So, I blogged my own thoughts and experiences… which was not quite as funny as when we were together, but it was ok… except the story about our bikes and a dog…
One time, instead of walking, we decided to go for long (in our opinion) bike ride. Our ride took us over five miles on winding country roads, ending at a bridge over the fast flowing Snake River, a favorite place for fly fishing.
We were enjoying our ride along farmground, trees, and houses spread out beautifully along the way. My friend was riding a little ahead of me when suddenly there appeared a medium-sized barking dog that came shooting across the lawn from the house.
When this sort of thing happens, you find out really fast who your friends are. My friend left me in the dust! She was nothing but a blur… GONE! I peddled as fast as I could to catch up to her. She finally slowed her bike to a stop. I started laughing when I pulled my bike up behind her. I said she must have learned that lesson about how to avoid being eaten by a bear. You simply have to run faster than your friend! She and I laughed so hard!
She shared a story about a time, as a teenager, she went to knock on the door at her friend’s house and the friend’s very large dog came running around the corner straight at her. She felt trapped and so scared… so scared that she fainted right there on the doorstep! She has had a fear of dogs ever since that day.
Anyway, we made it safely to our destination and back home again.
Sharing stories is also another reason I like to blog. 😉
Who has time for movies? I dont know if I have seen 10 movies! Although, Footloose is one of them! It’s a favorite
Seriously, my husband likes movies. He likes to go watch movies at the theater. I like popcorn. I go to the movies for the popcorn. And.. to nap. 🤷♀️ It has to be a pretty good movie for me to stay awake through the entire movie, especially when the popcorn is gone. I can’t help myself. The chairs are comfy. It’s dark. And, I’m relaxed. I have nothing to do, so I sleep.
My husband is ok with it… until I snore. Then I get the gentle nudge that stops the snoring… and the sleeping.
Next time he invites me to a movie, I’ll encourage him to take us to the matinee for half the price.
This is not seriously what I am most proud of, but I am a little proud of the last-minute ingenuity that happened in this very unimportant lunchtime event that took place today. 😀 I hope it brings a smile to your face. 😊
I work at a medical office where 3-4 times/week pharmaceutical reps bring in lunch for everyone in the office. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I went out to get my own lunch today because I could not stomach the thought of eating a burnt burger patty on a bun brought in from a local burger place. No matter how much building you do on that “build your own burger,” the flavor of that “cinder puck” still comes shining through!
It was a little before noon when I headed to Panera, thinking I was early enough to beat the lunch rush. I pulled into the drive-through and turned the corner behind the building to find I was the 4th car in line already. And, it was a SLOW line. So, slow, in fact, that I kept turning off my car as each car pulled ahead for their turn at the pay and pick-up window.
I kept my window closed and the heat inside the pickup turned up to 73 degrees. Oblivious to the fact the windshield wipers were set on “rain delay,” I staired out the windshield through the large drops of water quickly gathering and creating small rain rivers racing down the glass, which like my gaze, was aimed in no particular direction. I was mesmerized by the beat of the wipers, no longer on rain delay, trying to keep up with the rainfall.
Finally, it was my turn to pay the crazy amount of money charged for my teriyaki chicken and broccoli bowl, large drink and an oatmeal cookie. Nearly $20! I happily handed over my money in exchange for one of my favorite lunch meals, found the perfect parking spot toward the opposite end of the strip mall, if that’s what it is called, and parked facing traffic so I could watch the lunch gunners drive back and forth on the road ahead of where I parked.
Reaching into the brown paper bag, I pulled out the napkins, set them on the consul next to me, pulled out the cookie packaged in its own paper cookie bag, and set it on the napkins. Then I reached in for the straw and removed the paper covering before pushing it carefully into the cup’s lid. Finally, I reached in and pulled out the teriyaki chicken and broccoli bowl, which was hot enough I had to be careful not to burn my leg with the bottom of the bowl or my hand from the steam as I pulled off the lid. I reached into the bag one more time to grab the fork or spoon. Neither were in the bag. Instead, I pulled out another straw! Ugh. I didn’t need an extra straw. I needed a fork or spoon to use to eat my hot meal.
My thoughts were racing. I did not want to drive back to Panera on the far end of the parking lot, only to have to wait in line again, just for a fork. It was cold and raining outside, so the thought of getting out of my warm dry vehicle to go inside the building for a fork was not very appealing at all. I checked in all the spaces I could think of to check inside the pickup for the unlikely chance there might be a stray fork or spoon lying around. No such luck. It would be a difficult meal to eat with my fingers.
Then, it hit me! And, I became very grateful for that extra straw. I took the paper off that straw, then carefully took the straw out of my cup of ginger ale and cleaned it off. I put the two straws side by side in my right hand. Voile!!! AMERICAN FAST FOOD CHOPSTICKS!!! Or, in this case, STRAWSTICKS!!
Worked like a charm. I was able to eat my lunch AND stay warm and dry. I couldn’t help but smile as I ate my chicken, broccoli, and rice, while watching the cars zip back and forth on the busy road in front of me, and listening to news on XM Radio.
ChatterLei 