Hello, Friends. Just a few thoughts on this sun-shiny Sunday. I’ve been looking forward to this upcoming week. For once, I’m the one traveling for work and not my husband. I’m attending a 4-day team meeting complete with socializing and dinners out every night, cocktails, the works. Ah, a break! Yet, it’s the night before my trip and I feel bad because I know what my family will contend with regarding my mom in the next 4 days & I don’t envy them. The simplest of scenarios is a struggle.
Today I asked mom if she wanted to take a quick ride with me and my daughter to the car wash. It wound up taking 5 minutes to explain the concept of going to the car wash. “No, we’re not asking you to wash the car, mom. No, we’re not washing the car, we’re GOING to a car wash. You know?...You Drive in and the machines wash the car? When are we going? We’re going right now. Do you want to come?...Do you want to come to the CAR WASH, like I just said? Right now, yes, we’re going right now.” Once she understood and declined the little field trip to get the car cleaned up, I told her we were taking our dogs with us (so she wouldn’t wonder where they are and panic that they got out). She didn’t get that either without another 5 minutes of explanation. Finally, progress! Everything seemed to click and we were on our way. 10 minutes later, we take two steps into the house and she’s standing in the doorway of her room yelling at me, “Don’t EVER leave me like that again! Do you have any idea what I went through while you were gone wherever the h*ll you went?!”
Evidently, the windows were open in her room (side note: I never opened them and had no idea they were open. Also the screens were in the windows). The cat wanted to sit in the window sill and jumped up and startled causing her to knock over her glass of water onto the carpet. I let out sigh and commented that we’d only been gone 10 minutes and I’m sorry that the windows were opened....I didn’t realize that they were. I then commented that “Sometimes I need to leave the house, mom.” She whips around, stunned and says to me “well, what the h*ll’s gotten into you? I’m just telling you how cute the cat looked sitting near me in the window and you’re mad at me? Jesus Christ, every thing I say or do sets you off. The h*ll with you, lady.” Uhh...huh? I am not the one that was yelling - she was - but I’m smart enough to let it go.
However, the children are confused and one of them chimed in, pointing out that grandma was mistaken about who’s doing the yelling. “NA-uh, grandma. Mom’s not yelling. You’re the one screaming about the cat. We all just heard you.” Then the sibling chimes in with, “Yeah, grandma, sorry but you’re really confused about what’s going on.” Jeebus Christmas. That made my mother really mad. She closed her bedroom door and now she won’t talk to any of us. I reminded the kids, again, that these aren’t things we can reason with her on - they need to let it go and NOT point out to her how confused she is. She probably realizes it and she’s probably scared as it is. So yeah, part of me can’t wait to get the heck out of Dodge in the morning. The other part wishes I could wrap my arms around my kids and hubbie and take them with me. It ain’t easy, is it?
Have a pleasant business trip!
What doctor visits to you have lined up?
And if you feel guilty going to the conference, think how much it will refresh and hopefully challenge you mentally (in a good way) so that you can return feeling much more healthy, energetic, and all those good things.