My original title for this blog was going to be something along the lines of "No, you really can't die of embarrassment" or something similar. But considering how much I laughed despite my embarrassment, the current title works much better.
This week has been a pretty busy one. Monday I found myself running a little behind, so I ended up rushing through the grocery store to pick up a few needed things before I picked my mom up from dialysis. I was so proud that I remembered 2 last-second things she added to the list, but I forgot to write down, only to forget the last 2 items on the list halfway down the road to pick her up. Oops. But I got the bagels and cream cheese, so that counts, right? :)
Stephen King's newest book, Wind Through the Keyhole hit the shelves yesterday, so I had to pick it up today after I picked up mom. Normally, when he publishes a book, I could wait a little while, but it's the 8th installment of his Dark Tower series, so there wasn't such a thing. The series is tied for #1 as my favorite with The Stand as far as his books go. She also wanted to go to a store that was on the way back, so it was a win-win. I received a text message from a good friend of ours yesterday morning asking if my mom and me wanted to go shopping. We hadn't seen her in quite some time, between being sick and that crazy little thing called life. And like us, more often than not, when we're not rushing off to one dr or another or grocery shopping, she spends a lot of time stuck at home. I gave her our plans for today and invited her to join us. I didn't hear back from her, so I assumed she found something else to do.
Later last night, she said it sounded like a great idea and to let her know in the morning when I was leaving. In all the years I've known her, she's never been much of a morning person... or much of a person to be awake before noon unless she had to go to work, for that matter. And unless it was for work, she was almost always running late. It was just something we accept about her as a friend, except when it comes time to picking mom up, being late isn't an option. So I called her a half hour before I left just to make sure she was at least awake. I almost fell over when she answered halfway through the second ring and was not only awake, but was almost ready to leave! So I picked her up, went for coffee, picked up a cup for mom (a must anytime we go out shopping after dialysis if I want to live), picked up mom, and off to B&N we went. They waited in the car since I was only going in for 1 book. Right. 5 minutes and 4 books later... (50 Shades of Grey, and the first 2 Hunger Games books in hardcover) I stopped from buying the third so I wouldn't overspend (too late) AND so I had an excuse to return soon. It was off to Bed Bath & Beyond. And the REAL fun.
I knew my mother needed makeup (most BB&Bs now have Harmon stores in them now) and a few kitchen gadgets and other than a travel mug for her coffee & tea, I didn't know what Ter needed. I needed a new tube of chap stick to keep in my car and a few vitamins. Nothing much, but it still got us all out of the house.. I emphasize the last 4 lines of the last sentence. And again emphasize them. Aside from playing with almost every shiny and colourful kitchen gadget (which we're all guilty of), smelling almost all the candles that caught their attention (I was still sneezing from the seasoning section, so I tried to stay away from the candles), it wasn't too bad until it got closer to the checkout line. You know, where all the cool little gadgets, toys, things that make noise, things like that are kept? Mom ended up with a small hedgehog doll that giggled when you squeezed it and a stuffed pill that laughed like a little kid. Both terrorized the fuzzlemutt. Except she seemed to think the hedgehog was more of a baby than a toy. The pill still laughs, but is in a few pieces. Ter paid for her stuff, I paid for moms and as I was getting my receipt they called out my name in chorus. Even all the cashiers looked up. There was a display of those little animal keychains that when you push the buttons, their little LED eyes light up and they quack, squawk, etc. Great. Who needs to take kids to the store when you have those 2, right? Then my mom spotted the owl one (who sounded more like a hawk than an owl). Of course I couldn't resist offering to buy it for her, considering her love for hours and let's face it... it WAS another way in which to torture the dog. (Which it does... it's a great deterrent when she's doing something wrong.) Who needs to yell when you have a 1" screeching owl with glowing eyes going off at you, right?
But I did learn (and relearn) some important things today: laughter is sometimes the best way to deal with things, even embarrassment. Especially when you're the one being embarrassed in public by your own mother as a grown adult. (lesson relearned) And no matter how much pain I'm in, or how much like hell I'm feeling--I have to get her out of this house more often. :)
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