Mothers Day

I love my Mom.  Well really, who doesn't love their Mom?  And for that matter, who doesn't love MY Mom?  She's such a character.  While both of my parents had a wicked sense of humor, I think my own brand of humor is more like my Moms.  Particularly our tendency towards self-deprecating jokes.  And she's just as quick witted at 88 as she ever was.  When I look in the mirror, I don't see much of her, but when I look inside myself, she's right there.  We've all uttered those famous words "oh my God, I sound just like my mother", but in my case, it's happening more and more with each passing day.  I know my Mom wasn't a saint (she reminds me all the time), but I choose to remember all the good and put anything unpleasant in the distant past.  Growing up the baby in the family, I was the lucky one.  I had my mom all to myself for almost 10 years, so I think we share a tighter bond than she does with my brother or sister.  I know that was not a conscious choice on any one's part, but simply the way our lives played out.

As one would expect, now that she's almost 89 years old, her health has deteriorated.  But, how many 88 year olds do you know who still live in their own home, drive their own car, and cook their own meals?  Did I mention how stubborn she is?  She did finally agree not to drive outside of Burlingame, but I think that had more to do with the reliability of her car than anything.  

Anyone that knows my mom very well knows one thing.  She has an aversion to staying on her feet.  I can't count the number of times she's fallen.  Shoot, even when she was younger she broke her foot a number of times.  She likes to say she's a klutz.  I would never say that.  I might say she's gravity challenged.  If you were at Erin's wedding, you might have seen this first hand.  

The day before yesterday, I got a phone call from Mom's cleaning lady, Pam,  telling me she had fallen at the Senior Center.  The wonderful Burlingame Rescue Squad checked her out, and suggested she go to the emergency room.  Remember that stubborn streak?  She had Pam take her home.  Another friend joined them and helped get her situated at home until I could get there.  When I arrived, I could see a few bruises and some cuts on her face.  It seems she tripped over a brick on the edge of the sidewalk and landed face first.  Within an hour or two, the bruising and swelling had worsened, and she was starting to look like she'd lost a fight with Muhammad Ali.  The fall broke her glasses, and judging by the cement skid marks on the lens, it's a good thing she was wearing them.   After experiencing several dizzy spells, she finally conceded to going to see her Dr. the next day.  Not surprisingly, the Dr. said they were the result of a concussion.  I also took her to her Eye Dr. and got new glasses ordered.  By the time we got all our running around done, she was exhausted.  This morning she reported to me that she slept well last night (no doubt helped out by the pain meds the Dr. prescribed) and was feeling much better.  Maybe, just maybe now, she'll start using that cane we bought a couple of years ago.  Oh who am I kidding?  I know she's going to recover just fine from this little mishap, but when I let myself think about how differently things could have turned out, it scares me to death.  I've only had my momma for 53 years, and I'm not done with her yet! 

at Erin's Bridal Shower 2005