Tonight as I was walking down that long hall, I could see Mom's head through the tiny window. She was standing up, obviously, and I was surprised to see her in the main room as opposed to her apartment at this hour. Then I saw her giving a hug to one of the nurses. Hmm....ok.
I walked in - 'Hi there. How are things?'
The nurse told me they were making up. "Your Mom had gotten a little upset and snapped at me, and just apologized, so we were giving each other a hug." Alrighty then. I sat down on the bench next to Mom.
'What's going on, Mom?'
"Well I just need to get out of the chair arranging business. People just tend to get too upset, then I'm crying, they're crying, we're all crying."
I don't think I ever really understood what happened, although Mom did her best to explain it to me. It was something about her trying to arrange all the chairs, and the "older women" didn't like where she had put them, which led to some sort of outburst or episode that she then felt the need to apologize for.
"Yes, the nurses were shocked because they've never seen me angry like that. I never argue with anyone, well, except Paul of course. They always say 'Are you going to talk to your husband like that?' and I say..you better believe it, especially when I'm angry. Then I just have to forgive everybody and go around and say I'm sorry I hurt all of your feelings. Now they are all table arrangers, everybody wants to do it their way. Never again will I volunteer for that job. I told them I'll just wait until Kim gets here, and now I'm passing the job on to you."
'I don't know about that Mom, I've had a long day and I'm super tired. I don't think I'd be very good at arranging the chairs either.'
"Have you eaten anything? I think we have some stew in there if you want some."
'I'll be ok until I get home Mom, but thank you for offering.' She had her cane beside her and I noticed her walker halfway down the other hallway (as opposed to the one that leads to her room). 'Is that your walker down there Mom?'
"Yes, but I don't need it, I've got my cane right here. Besides, there's never room for it once you try arranging all the chairs. I can't believe I made the great, great grandmother cry. Then I had to cry too."
'I'll go put your walker back in your room.' I noticed her purse on top, and it was filled with empty Styrofoam cups, just like at her old place. 'Is that an umbrella in your basket?'
"Yes, well I thought it might rain today."
'I'll be right back.' I took her walker to her room, and had a quick look around to make sure things were in order. I turned the closet light off, heat and tv volume down, and then Mom walked in. 'Hi Mom. Do you want to sit and watch tv? I have to get home shortly.'
"No. I'll go back out there."
'Do you want to take your walker instead?'
"No, I'll just use my cane. I'm fine with my cane. What time will you be here in the morning?"
'I won't be here in the morning, but I'll stop by after work'
"You have to work tomorrow? You've been working this whole vacation. Oh well, at least you get overtime, right? It's all about the money. How is your car running?"
I walked back to the main room with her, just chatting a bit. I noticed she had on the same red sweater from yesterday, and that her pants were on backwards, but didn't say anything. She asked about the kids and whether their cars were all running. It's always interesting to me, the types of things she worries about. I gave her a hug. 'See you tomorrow, Mom.'
"Ok, thanks a bunch for stopping by. You really calmed me down tonight, I was so glad to see you." 'Same here, Mom. See you tomorrow.'
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