My once very laid back Mom is not the most patient person these days. It’s actually comical when we’re sitting at a traffic light. She’ll tell me that there are cars coming, letting me know that I can’t go. Then when all is clear, she gets quite upset at times that I don’t move. I direct her attention each time to the traffic light and explain that it has to be green before I can go.
Another example of impatience has to do with meals, whether at home or restaurants. She begins asking me about dinner around 4:00 pm expecting me to get up and start making something. Typically I don’t have a reason to start dinner until 5:00 or after, with an expected eating time of 6:00. But, as with her frozen yogurt at night, she will begin a countdown. If I have a quick meal to make, or leftovers to heat up, oh my goodness! She huffs and mumbles right up until I finally start cooking. It can get exasperating at times but mostly it is just comical because we eat like clockwork around here. At 6:00 she is sitting at the table with food in front of her.
As I’m writing this, she keeps asking me when it will be time to get it ready. I just told her 45 minutes and she repeated it and said, “I don’t understand it.” I assured her I would take care of it.
We went to dinner last night with Steve’s family at a restaurant we’ve never visited before. It was a fancier restaurant than we normally frequent – Max & Erma’s is our favorite – and Mom asked me if it was “higher”, meaning more expensive. I confirmed that it was but what I didn’t mention was my real concern of getting food in front of her so that she would be satisfied.
She loves to go out and pouts greatly if I go anywhere without her, but the patience thing jumps in when she’s with us. Once they take our order I think she expects the food to magically appear. Last night was even more difficult because we didn’t meet at the restaurant until 6:00. So, as quickly as possible, I ordered an appetizer so that she and I could split it and it would give her something to do. That worked well but given the fancier restaurant, service is done at a slower pace. Salads were presented to some at our table and Mom wondered where her food was. Dinner finally arrived and she, as usual, cleaned her plate. Patience jumps in again – “Is it time to go home?”
Today she’s been marveling again at the sun shining behind the clouds and blue sky. She’s been so excited that she sits on the edge of the chair and calls me over to look constantly. Words are not coming to her or the wrong word comes out (red for blue), “Sky is good and fresh.” She’s happy though and that’s what counts!
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