The Restaurant

In "real time" today is my birthday. At this point in my life, I am just thankful for another one! But thinking back, I remember how Mom always made all of our birthdays special. Not that she went "all out" by renting a place for dinner or decorating her house with balloons. That was not her style. But she would cook our favorite foods, have a present ready, and have all the sisters and brothers-in-law around. One of my favorite meals she prepared for me was: red beans (pinto beans to some), soft-fried potatoes, fried okra, boiled squash, and sliced tomatoes. Before the day was over, at some point Mom would say something like, "Do you know where I was thirty years ago today?" or "I remember what I was doing fifty years ago today!" Now I find myself doing the same thing with my two sons on their birthday. Wow, I remember where I was thirty-two years ago today! And so we hand our memories down....

Back to the appointment now: Pop had an appointment a couple of blocks away from where we had been with Mom, so Mom and I took him there when we finished at Dr. Tee's office. Then she and I went to a nearby restaurant for salad and iced tea. The place was almost empty, and the waitress seated us in a lovely garden spot partially sunlit, with some shade from the nearby plants. She was precious! As she gave us our menus, she asked, "Are you ladies sisters?" I smiled and said "No, but thank you." Mom seemed pleased. Later as I told Pop what the young lady said, Mom asked if I had been embarrassed. I told her no, that I took it as a compliment. Again, she seemed pleased. But in between seeming pleased once or twice, she continued to erupt in tears of anger. I use the word anger because when I suggested that I understood she might be fearful, she quickly informed me that she was not fearful. She was mad!

Mom continued to bring up the fact that her memory was just as good or better than Pop's. And doesn't everyone get forgetful sometimes? Following the doctor's lead, I answered her each time with, "Yes, but the doctor said you have a significant memory loss. She also said it's hard when a person has a memory problem for that person to understand the severity of it because he or she does not remember things well." I am not sure I quoted Dr. Tee verbatim, but Mom was not too interested in the doctor's opinion anyway!