AN ANGEL 9
Because a lot of the "Angel" entries are about sad attacks I might have given the impression that Mom is sad most of the time. That impression could not be further from the truth. Sad attacks are noteworthy incidents of life but in our life together laughs outnumber sad attacks by at least 50 to 1. This has been a complete surprise to me because Mom laughing is not a vivid childhood memory. Sadly it was only after 54 years that I learned Mom has a wicked sense of humor. Happily, I have enjoyed it more and more over the last 5 years.
Mom is not as steady on her feet as she once was. A couple days ago while hitting tennis balls for an hour I warned her to be careful backing away from a ball so that she didn't fall backward. She replied, "Yeh, I don't want to fall over and crack my head. I am having enough trouble with my brain already". Tonight after a hug had continued long enough for her, which is about 5 seconds, she grabbed me with all her strength where my love handles would be if I had any. As I screamed in real pain and mock anger Mom tipped her head back and laughed for twice as long as the hug lasted. Now she won't grab me again until I have forgotten she does that and then she'll do it again.
One day I was showing my brother Don and Mom an ad in a magazine for a sky light I thought I would install in the dark corner of our kitchen. To emphasize the amount of light the sky light transmitted the picture showed flowers growing in a hallway carpet. Mom causally asked, "Will we have flowers like that on our kitchen floor?" Mom is always poking fun at my culinary efforts. A few years ago I was cooking a meal for both my parents, my sister and her husband. Because I balance ingredients scientifically and my brother-in-law can't tolerate onions, I substituted more green peppers in a recipe that already had a sizable quantity. Mom was cutting them. As my sister and her husband headed out for a walk Mom said, "If you see two green peppers sitting here when you get back, they will be us." On another occasion while driving to the village I asked Mom for my $5 allowance . As she handed me the $5 bill she looked at it and said, "Hmm, it is kind of old and wrinkled, just like me."
Last week late in the afternoon I was coming out of the downstairs bathroom. It was dark and I had my head down so I didn't see Mom in front of me. Just as I got to her my 90 year old mother yelled, "BOO!!!" I have to tell you it was lucky I was coming out of the bathroom and not going in. Mom laughed so hard I thought I would have to grab her to keep her from falling over backward. She continued to laugh as she walked to the laundry room to collect clothes. Sad thoughts of the future flashed through my mind but I enjoyed the moment and looked forward to another laugh.
Sunday, March 12, 2006 at 06:44AM
Reader Comments (3)
Thank you for posting the times full of laughter as well. Please do not be mistaken-I cud never think that the bad times could ever outweight the good ones. You have to remember that I had Nana consistently in my life for 17 years-she is a joker.I remember even one time when we were out there visiting, Nana-Faithe-and I were playing cards. Nana was constantly trying to steal my turns, and she kept on calling me Faithe-and at times Faithe-Elia. One time she called my Faithe and I told her my name was Elia-she looked at me and just started laughing*almost like she was doing it on purpose!The pics are GREAT...I guess Nana's ability to continue looking young has somewhat rubbed off on you.Keep the grat stories and pics coming...you have hooked me for life.
I particulary enjoyed this story about Aunt Rita's sense of humour. I think that is how one stay's young....a sense of humour is a blessing and if we could all laugh more, the better off we would all be. Life all around seems so serious these days....I would like to take some laughter classes to boost my energy! Thanks for the stories. They make me more than smile, they me make laugh!
Cousin Sue
Carolyn