"Mother's red truck"



LowTide Morning - October 27, 2018
"Mother's red truck"
Mom is currently "living" with us, but she views it as an extended vacation. Good enough. Since May of 2017, she has had two knee replacement and two cataract surgeries. We believe this year, and likely longer, it is in her best interest to stay with us.
True to her alternative-medicine mantra, Mom refuses further testing, so we assess her abilities via day-to-day occurrences and conversations.
Mom and I are watching the news featuring the 3D Ronald Reagan hologram in the Ronald Reagan presidential museum. Reagan speaks and moves as if in real life. Mom comments, "Ohhh, I haven't seen him in a long time." Nor, have I, Mom. I don't find this alarming, simply something to note, like my father-in-law calling flower blossoms feathers because the right word doesn't pull up. I know what he means. That is what matters most.
Indicators hint we are fading into a new season in life. I take it as it comes. When I ask Mom how old she was when I was born, she quickly responds, "The same age as your dad." I don't bother to probe and ask how old dad was. I know Mom is gaming me. And when I ask her what day it is, she responds, "The day after yesterday."
Get the picture? She's a clever one.
I follow suit. When Mom suggests that she spend the weekends with me and the weekdays at her old home, I respond, "You will have so much fun with me on the weekends, you won't want to go home." She seems to process the thought and doesn't balk at the idea.
Some things Mom recalls more clearly than others. One indelible recollection that she gets right every time: her father's old, red Ford truck. For a time, Mom and Dad possessed and drove the truck until someone made an offer that my father couldn't refuse. Mom loved that old truck, mainly because it belonged to her father. In principle, she probably forgave my father for selling the truck, but deep down...
Mom might forget how old she was when I was born, and someday she might not know what day of the week nor what month of the year it is, but I'm betting money she never forgets that old Ford truck.
~ LowTide explorer, Carolyn Fjeran
[LowTide is an eclectic collection of discoveries and reflective writings.]

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