senior moments

My poor mom had a bad day. She has become frozen by fear of falling. Certainly at age 85 with a few experiences with tumbles, she has reason to be cautious, but her fear has become pathological. She tried to go shopping at her local Sears store and was overwhelmed by the escalator. Even though she received help from several kind strangers, the experience shook her so much that she left without purchasing what she went to get.

So I was delighted to be able to tell her a story about my day, that made her laugh and realize that "senior moments" can be had at just about any age (I'm 57).

I had an eye appointment this morning, routine follow up from cataract surgery. It was very early, and being rushed I didn't have breakfast. Afterwards, my eyes were too dilated to drive the 15 miles home, so I scooted over to my favorite restaurant, the Pine Mountain Grill, a few blocks away for a hearty breakfast. [I love eating breakfast out - any excuse will do!]

I settled in at my table with coffee, took my hoodie off, and laid it over the back of the chair, and got my planning journal out -- to plan what I wanted to blog about this week. The food arrived and was yummy. When I finished, I stood up, picked up my purse, and then one of my students (an employee at the restaurant) stopped by to say "hi." We chatted for a moment and then I went to the cashier, paid my bill. I noticed a great pair of sunglasses with reading glasses inserts on the gift rack next to the check out and purchased those too. Then I walked out to my car, and went on my way.

Five hours later, 40 miles away shopping at Wal-mart, it suddenly dawned on me -- I left my hoodie on the chair, my journal on the table, and the case for my reading glasses on the counter by the cashier! When I finally reached home at 6 PM, I called the restaurant, and checked -- sure enough all my stuff was sitting in their lost and found at the cashiers post. I'll have to go back and get it tomorrow.

I made quite a production of telling my mom, and she got a good laugh, and it made her feel a little better. So now I know why my day was the way it was!