Today We Had An Adventure

Today was an adventure. I took my mother, my aunt and Helen, my mother’s amusing and spirited next door neighbor to Plymouth to see my wonderful children and my astounding grandbaby. As I said, it was an adventure. No one is under 60 and many over 75. This is not an issue with my Aunt and age is not an issue with my mother but paying attention has always been difficult for mom. She looks everywhere but where she’s going. So she went to the bathroom at Seth’s and she fell—which of course freaked everyone out but me. I am, unfortunately, used to it.

But it was like a sit-com from beginning to end. My Caddy—the gold caddy, lost air conditioning when I was on the road to NJ—or before, I’m just not sure. All I know is I thought I was having a flash, but I was having overheat in the car. So I took the car to our favorite place on Washington Street in Boonton and I told him to try to fix it or sell it or give it away—I had bus tickets so I didn’t care. Then I walked backed to mom’s, and Auntie and I decided we might have to have a donut for the road, so I went to the Dunker and got six wonderfully sweet pastries.

I got back to my mother’s and thought it might be a good idea to call Helen—but I didn’t have her number so I walked next door to find she was about to make a ham sandwich but would sacrifice it for the egg salad I had already prepared. And we were off. Well, not quite off. We needed to pick mom up at the Mews. We drove uptown and picked up my mother and her medication and then we were off. Well, not quite. Mom decided she needed to have the Diet Ginger Ale in her fridge and, of course, the door was locked so someone had to get the key. And then we were off.

Joyce and Zachary, Gigi, and Auntie
We drove for about two hours and when I looked in the rear view mirror I noticed that mom was draped/leaning across the back seat. “She didn’t hang herself on the seatbelt, did she?” I asked Helen, who was sitting right next to her. “Oh no she’s fine” Helen said. Thank God, I thought. I’d hate for her to have an accident and off herself on the way to see her grandchild and first great grandchild.

And on we went. We stopped at a rest area in Connecticut and decided we would eat our egg salad in the car, but go to the bathroom and get drinks at the stop. Which we did without incident. And then we were on out way again. Well not quite. Helen got gum on her shoe so she spent the next fifteen minutes trying to remove it. And then we were on out way.

When we got to Joyce and Seth’s we couldn’t have been happier. They were so excited to see mom and auntie, and they were thrilled that we had made the trip. They are incredibly wonderful children or remarkable actors. So we arrived before two, and then at four mom had to go to the bathroom. And instead of calling me to help her—it was not handicapped accessible, she decided to get up, and she fell. Who knows how. First she thought it was her neck then she was black and blue on her shoulder—do I need to go on? It was horrible for the kids and additionally horrible for the traveling party.

Your Humble Correspondent Getting Quality Time with Zach
We left before dark because I didn’t want her to negotiate in and out of the car in the dark. We got back to the hotel and I put her to bed—it was after eight. Her bedtime. And I told her not to get out of bed and I left Auntie to babysit while I worked out my anxiety on the treadmill. But I couldn’t face having to deal with all of it right after my exercise so I went to Bertucci’s, right next door, and had a soda, listened to great old Italian music like “Come Onna My House”, a Rosemary Clooney favorite, and watched a Red Sox game. I hate baseball but it was preferable to going back to my room and listening to the TV at a million decibels. What can I say?

Tomorrow we’re heading home. Another adventure. Thank God Auntie is with me so we can laugh about the adventure. And thank God this is the last trip we will need to make. Seth decided he would bring my Zachary to see his great grandma, or as she calls herself, Gigi, next time. I am happy we came, because seeing my kids is fabulous, and I am happy my mom saw the baby, and I am happiest that the adventure is almost over. We’re just sayin...Iris