My holiday saga unfolded . . .
Hello Friends!
Everything went surprisingly well this Thanksgiving, despite all the anxiety leading up to the day. Mom arrived safely on Wednesday morning (while I was at work) and my Uncle Francis brought her to the house from the bus station. She fell mysteriously ill, slept for 2 days (her body's way of saying "stay down, sister, you need the rest!"), and thus missed Thanksgiving dinner. This turned out to be a very good thing, because she also missed the arrival of Sweets late on Wednesday night, the friend I asked to drive down here with Terry to share the driving and ease Mom's deep and far-reaching terror of the prospect of her "Miracle Baby" (Terry) driving this long distance trip alone. I found out on Wednesday morning that Sweets decided to take the bus down also because he didn't want to miss Thanksgiving dinner and then turn right around and return to New York! The upshot was that the very determined Terry Ann was making this trip precisely the way she wanted to: alone!
And the two geniuses decided to leave me holding the bag, because neither of them told my Mom about any of these changes, because "it will be better this way!" So there I was, trying to play it off as best I could--by not discussing it with her at all... Now, this worked out well for almost 24 hours! I thought that Mom realized that we had an additional house guest on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, because, although she never *saw* any one other than me, I was constantly talking--and not to her. It turns out that in her delirium, she either heard none of these conversations or (scarier thought) she's so accustomed to me talking to myself, it didn't seem at all unusual that I never shut up!
Anyway, Thursday morning, I *thought* the jig was up when Mom asked if Terry had left NY and if Sweets came. I answered "yes" (cause in my world, this was all true), and since I was on the phone when she asked me this, I swiftly excused myself to return to the call. I broke into a cold sweat as I heard her continuing from the bedroom, "Good, 'cause I was really just worried that she'd be traveling alone. I can go back to sleep now." I was now "officially" involved in the lie! Mom had fallen back asleep, but I vowed to tell her all when she next awoke. I *knew* the game was over, however, when, cozily ensconced in the bathroom chatting long-distance with a friend, I heard my FULL NAME being called out, quickly followed by a "come here now!" command.
The loose cannon strikes: my niece, Trenace, checking in with everyone from the safe haven of her paternal grandmere's home in Miami, had finally managed to call Mom at a point when she was awake *and* her phone was on. Trenace had innocently informed Mom that Sweets was already in Winston-Salem, and Terry was not only driving alone, she was driving *their* car to boot!
So, as I explained my role in the deception, I gently held her hand, and channeled the calming energy of a good friend who had tried to help me find my own peace of mind earlier. After reminding Mom that it was *she* who had advised me that "worry never gains you anything", I counseled that we both now needed to have confidence that the Miracle Baby would not only make the trip successfully, she'd do so in good time and without incident. Which, as it turns out, she did! She arrived at my door around 10:30pm -- Mom got up, came into the living room and sang a chorus of "Glory Hallelujah, when I Laid my Burden Down", danced a quaint little jig, hugged her child, said "I wasn't worried!" and went back to bed. Sweets, Terry and I just looked at each other and burst into gales of laughter!
The remainder of the visit was just great, with lots of trips, shopping, good company, and very little fighting over who got to drive the car. I'm so proud of my sister: she's now my very own "road model" for my driving future (now, if I could only gain her great sense of direction!)
So, bottom line: The holiday was full of love, family, drama, good food and cheer--just the way I like it. I was so glad to have my people here with me this year, and now that we've had this time together and the wee hours of the morning approach, I'm so pleased to see them get in that little car and go back to New York.
Thanks to all of you who listened to my daily tales of despair before the holiday--I really appreciated it. I hope your Thanksgiving was memorable as well, in the most positive ways!
Everything went surprisingly well this Thanksgiving, despite all the anxiety leading up to the day. Mom arrived safely on Wednesday morning (while I was at work) and my Uncle Francis brought her to the house from the bus station. She fell mysteriously ill, slept for 2 days (her body's way of saying "stay down, sister, you need the rest!"), and thus missed Thanksgiving dinner. This turned out to be a very good thing, because she also missed the arrival of Sweets late on Wednesday night, the friend I asked to drive down here with Terry to share the driving and ease Mom's deep and far-reaching terror of the prospect of her "Miracle Baby" (Terry) driving this long distance trip alone. I found out on Wednesday morning that Sweets decided to take the bus down also because he didn't want to miss Thanksgiving dinner and then turn right around and return to New York! The upshot was that the very determined Terry Ann was making this trip precisely the way she wanted to: alone!
And the two geniuses decided to leave me holding the bag, because neither of them told my Mom about any of these changes, because "it will be better this way!" So there I was, trying to play it off as best I could--by not discussing it with her at all... Now, this worked out well for almost 24 hours! I thought that Mom realized that we had an additional house guest on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, because, although she never *saw* any one other than me, I was constantly talking--and not to her. It turns out that in her delirium, she either heard none of these conversations or (scarier thought) she's so accustomed to me talking to myself, it didn't seem at all unusual that I never shut up!
Anyway, Thursday morning, I *thought* the jig was up when Mom asked if Terry had left NY and if Sweets came. I answered "yes" (cause in my world, this was all true), and since I was on the phone when she asked me this, I swiftly excused myself to return to the call. I broke into a cold sweat as I heard her continuing from the bedroom, "Good, 'cause I was really just worried that she'd be traveling alone. I can go back to sleep now." I was now "officially" involved in the lie! Mom had fallen back asleep, but I vowed to tell her all when she next awoke. I *knew* the game was over, however, when, cozily ensconced in the bathroom chatting long-distance with a friend, I heard my FULL NAME being called out, quickly followed by a "come here now!" command.
The loose cannon strikes: my niece, Trenace, checking in with everyone from the safe haven of her paternal grandmere's home in Miami, had finally managed to call Mom at a point when she was awake *and* her phone was on. Trenace had innocently informed Mom that Sweets was already in Winston-Salem, and Terry was not only driving alone, she was driving *their* car to boot!
So, as I explained my role in the deception, I gently held her hand, and channeled the calming energy of a good friend who had tried to help me find my own peace of mind earlier. After reminding Mom that it was *she* who had advised me that "worry never gains you anything", I counseled that we both now needed to have confidence that the Miracle Baby would not only make the trip successfully, she'd do so in good time and without incident. Which, as it turns out, she did! She arrived at my door around 10:30pm -- Mom got up, came into the living room and sang a chorus of "Glory Hallelujah, when I Laid my Burden Down", danced a quaint little jig, hugged her child, said "I wasn't worried!" and went back to bed. Sweets, Terry and I just looked at each other and burst into gales of laughter!
The remainder of the visit was just great, with lots of trips, shopping, good company, and very little fighting over who got to drive the car. I'm so proud of my sister: she's now my very own "road model" for my driving future (now, if I could only gain her great sense of direction!)
So, bottom line: The holiday was full of love, family, drama, good food and cheer--just the way I like it. I was so glad to have my people here with me this year, and now that we've had this time together and the wee hours of the morning approach, I'm so pleased to see them get in that little car and go back to New York.
Thanks to all of you who listened to my daily tales of despair before the holiday--I really appreciated it. I hope your Thanksgiving was memorable as well, in the most positive ways!
posted by Unknown at 2:31 PM
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