When I arrived Saturday to visit Used to Be Mother she was dressed in a very heavy wool sweater and her capri pants. Her uncombed hair was akimbo and she had that wild strange look in her eye that keeps me uneasy. She told me that it was Robbie Burns day and to celebrate it, everyone had to wear their odd sweater.
Well you certainly will win a prize with that sweater Mom.
My mother was always a good sport about dressing up and joining the fun. She didn't remember who Robbie Burns was but he must be important that they were celebrating his birthday.
I curl her hair. I remember her beautiful red thick hair now snow white and thinning so much I can see her scalp. She is tickled that her hair looks so nice ready for the party.
I coax her to change into a different pair of pants. She knows that capris aren't really in season but she just felt like wearing them. What difference would it have made?
We wash a whole load of stained clothes. I used to call her Lysol Lillie because she was that spic and span kind of homemaker. She is still very precise how she hangs them to dry in her closet. My mother can't remember what you said to her five minutes ago but I can still see her meticulous order and precision in her home.
We work on a jig saw puzzle together. We listen to Susan Boyle. Tick, tock.
She tells me I have to leave. She is going to the party.
She calls me later to tell me that they all were dancing and singing but nobody asked her to dance. She went home early to put in her drops.
As I hang up the phone, I hear her say "I miss you."
Me too Mom.
3 comments:
Time to leave. Well at least she tells you what she thinks, eh?
My mother was a spic and span mother too, and that habit of keeping things tidy and spotless was one of the last things to go, but eventually she lost even that.
Carry on, Bonnie.
I thought I wrote this before, but I'll say it again. The last thing to go with my mother was her tidiness. Those habits of a lifetime don't go gently into that good night.
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