I was barely home from my trip when I received a call to come to Debbie’s immediately. Mom was complaining of pains in her chest and felt she needed to go to the hospital, but first, I needed to circle by my house and retrieve my phone. As I started to exit the car, so did Mom.
“Mom, I’ll be right back; just wait here.”
“No! I’m home, and that’s where I’m staying.”
“Don’t you need to go to ER?”
“No! I’m fine now; I’m home. I’m never leaving again.”
I wonder why she couldn’t tell me she wanted to come home instead of all the drama, but I guess it’s her way of exiting without letting anyone know; she was ready to get back to her routine. She enjoyed her time with Debbie, enjoyed telling us about how her neighbors had missed her, and spoiled her while there, especially her closest neighbor, Sylvia. Thank you for that, Sylvia. I know you have so much going on, but you still found time to make Mom feel loved.
Our trip to Cancun was beautiful with my friend, Ceal, and my ‘adopted sisters,’ Pat and Rose. We spent time in a fantastic SPA at Dreams Natura, although we would have been an enormous hit on America’s Funniest Home Videos. We set a world record for how quickly we exited the ice-cold pools. We planned to go parasailing but received a message our excursion was canceled because “We were too old.” Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? Who do they think they are?
We went on a sailboat ride to see the sunset and swam in the caves and lagoons; I went snorkeling, although I am not a good swimmer. I contribute this to my dad. As children, he would take us ‘swimming’ in Grandpa’s pond and throw us out into the water, insisting we “sink or swim”; I sank. In his defense, he got three out of five swimmers. Bonnie and I were the sinkers.
Today, we visited Mom’s heart doctor. He suggested a stress test, and if it isn’t good, she may need stints. He reminded me that in 2019, she did well with it, but he also relayed the risk and left the decision up to us. After an EKG and blood test, which he was well-pleased with, Mom decided she did not want to go through the procedure. I have mixed feelings but am trying to accept this as her decision. Angioplasty is becoming more common at her age, but she does have kidney issues from diabetes.
He adjusted her medicine, and as of now, we will see how she is doing in a month. Thankfully, this gives me some time to wrap my mind around it too.
Back to her old self, she complained all the way home. I drove too fast…I was lost and had no idea where we were…she had never been on Highway 102 in her life….and I am a terrible driver. I reminded her that she was my inspiration for driving; training me back in the day when she washed that yellow barracuda she had. She would go up to the state line (a mile away) and come back down 742 wide open. She called that, ‘drying it off!’
I, on the other hand, call it “Blowing off steam!”
Day 5, After A Week’s Vacation……WHO DECIDED THERE WERE ONLY 7 DAYS IN A WEEK?
