And then, you start breathing again ...

Random notes.

Quite often, Mom has trouble with the phone. The new-fangled cordless ones confuse her so we have an old-fashioned landline corded model in her room. The other morning I heard her in her room talking to someone, and I could tell it wasn't the cat.

Pretty soon, she comes downstairs and tells me the people on the phone need my shipping address. Hmmm.
Mom had called to order memory-boosting pills. I didn't have the heart to tell her she couldn't have them. The woman on the phone explained they cost $140, and new shipments go out every 30 days. I gave the woman the info, and got complete details about how to cancel and return the shipment when it arrives. I add it to other things we must return and cancel:
-$200 worth of Ahhh bras complete with a $50 a month life counseling service. (Thanks, Susan, for shipping them back. This one cost $600 for the woman who doesn't wear bras.)
- $128 automatic shipments of Jane Seymore's Natural Advantage skin care system. Not sure how often they were shipping this one, but there were at least two deliveries before Mom moved and one since she's been here.
- Numerous Reader's Digests books and CDs.

Which leads us to scary moment ...
Call home from Leitchfield just to check up on things. (Leitchfield is 30 miles away. I work there on Tuesdays which means I can't immediately respond to an emergency. I'm always a little on edge until Christy arrives at 4 p.m.) Chatting with Mom when I hear the doorbell ring. Mom says, "Oh, he's here!" Click. Phone goes dead ...

Call back and get Christy. It was the mailman with (another) postage due package.
----

Mom always told me that when I was a baby, I would wake up and just babble and coo in my crib until somebody retrieved me. As I lay in bed in the morning and listen to her playing with Mimi, who is now "her" cat, I have an inkling of how it must feel to have a happy child.
___

After a particularly frustrating day recently, I came home and discovered I had spent at least the last two hours at work with my pants unzipped.

Got home from back-to-back doctor's appointments yesterday and realized I had my shirt on inside-out.

Am reconsidering the memory pill thing.

The tables turn

Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012

Remember when Mom would send us to the store with $5 to buy bread, and darned if that bread didn't cost $5 a loaf?

Mom wanted to go to the grocery store today. Although it usually tires her out, she enjoys choosing her own food and making impulse purchases ... lots of impulse purchases.

Since it's easier to get the walker in and out of my SUV, Christy came to the office to swap cars with me. I knew Mom only had $30 cash, so I gave Christy $40 out of my purse, just in case. There were only four items on the official list, but knowing Mom, I didn't want Christy to have to deal with trying to talk Mom through using her debit card when Mom inevitably spent more than $30. As Christy was leaving, I told her, "I just spent $30 on Girl Scout cookies, so don't let her buy cookies!"

"It's the first thing on the list," Christy said.

A couple hours later, I heard David talking to Christy. Afterward, he gave me the report:
"They didn't buy cookies. But your Mom bought a big bag of candy. She said 'Sarah didn't say I couldn't buy candy.'"

Mom was still awake when I got home from work. When I asked how much she spent, she said, "I spent your $40, and $3 of mine."

Yup. Karma's a bitch.