Mom: A Very Wise Lady

Today I had a doctor's appointment out of town and the brakes on my car are getting rather smooshy. I really didn't want to drive it so I asked my Mom if I could use her car asking her to come along for the ride (because sitting around waiting in a doctor's office is such fun when you're 90 years old) and after my appointment we'd do some shopping. She agreed... so as soon as I got out of work off we went.

Mom took a seat in the waiting room and I was immediately called to the nether parts of the building to go through some tests and see the doctor. This was a recheck after my second surgery on my eyes for cataracts. When I came back out, Mom commented that there were some rather odd people she had observed while waiting. She also said she had never been in a doctor's office where people talked so much. Now this is true. There is a strange bonding that takes place among the patients in this doctor's office because you know that everyone else there has been through, is in the process of going through, or will soon discover they are going to go through this cataract surgery. I have to tell you all about the great fun I had... but that's for another day. The main character in this post is my Mom and I was glad that she hadn't sat there bored during the time I was seeing the doctor.

We headed off to Sears, one of Mom's favorite shopping destinations. Walked through the sales racks and both of us bought blouses on sale and were happy with our luck. It seemed early when we headed back to the car so I asked Mom if she'd like to go for ice cream.

"Well, I don't need any ice cream" she informed me. "I don't need any..." is the phrase which often precedes Mom's response to any statement you make to her about eating food. I told her I'd like to treat her and to thank her for coming with me and the use of her car. I also told her that where I was going was TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt) a favorite treat place for me. I love their sugar free yogurt topped with sugar free berries. That sounded pretty good to Mom too, so she thought it would be alright since it would be good for her and not spoil her supper.

Once inside TCBY Mom found us a table and I went and ordered our sundaes. I sat down and we began talking about just regular stuff and enjoying our treats. Then Mom said to me "I heard on TV this week that it is not good to eat alone."

"Really!" I replied wondering where this was going to go. "Why is that?"

"People who eat alone die younger than those who eat with someone else or they suffer from despression." Mom said.

Well, Mom turns 91 in a couple weeks so I felt pretty sure that she wasn't expecting to die young, so I asked, "So, are you depressed?"

"I don't know," she said to me, perfectly straight faced, and I sucked in my breath wondering what would come next. "So?" I looked at her for some kind of explanation. "Does that mean you are supposed to go out and buy a pet or something."

"I don't know about all that," she said, rewarding me with one of her smug smiles. "I never eat alone."

"No?"

"No, I never eat alone," she continued. "I eat with all my neighbors and anyone who is walking or driving up or down the street." Mom's kitchen table is in front of a window that gives her a view of everything that is happening in her neighborhood. I always have found it comical that Mom watches out her window and knows everyone's business on her street: she knows when they leave their house, come back, have visitors (and usually who they are), if they were having work done, what they planted in their yards and when they went grocery shopping. All of a sudden I had a flash of insight and realizing that what I had considered nosiness was just a way to deal with solitude.

"How very wise you are," I said to her, completely impressed with how wise she really is.

"That's right," she said, "I never eat alone. There's always someone with me when I eat."

Maybe, because of her great dinner companions, she'll live to be a 100. I hope so.

Click here for a picture of Mom at her window taken by my daughter, Jamelah.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamelah/23626616/