Thursday, May 14, 2009

Mom never ceases to amaze me.

My mom’s not exactly a dinosaur. She’ll be 78 in a few days, but I worry about her. I live several hours away and I don’t see her as often as I’d like. My dad takes wonderful care of her, but she likes to do things her own way. She doesn’t ask for help. They still live on the family farm so maybe it’s a good thing she’s such a stubborn little Bohemian.

Mom fell this winter. As bad as that sounds, you should know she falls a lot. She has bad arthritis in her knees and they barely bend at all. My dad once left in the wee hours of the morning for a cattle sale out of state. He told Mom to stay in bed until my brother came over. She didn’t. Soon as Dad was gone she tried to get up and slid to the floor. Unable to rise she simply pulled the bedding down with her and went back to sleep because she didn’t want to bother any of us in the middle of the night. Two of my brothers live within fifteen minutes of the farm and she had a phone!

Then there was the time she was taking the trash out to the burn barrel, lost her balance and fell into the ditch at the edge of the lane. She couldn’t get out, got tired of yelling, so she pulled over an empty plastic bucket and beat on it with a stick until Dad located her. She might be forgetful at times, but when push comes to shove, she can be amazing.

Of course, her next fall was more serious. It was winter and my father had gone to bed. Mom realized she’s forgotten to lock up their cattle dog Charlie. Charlie and the local coyotes don’t get along. It was late, Mom didn’t want to bother Dad, so out she went and...fell by Charlie’s pen.

She couldn’t get up, she tried and tried, but couldn’t. So this 77 year old woman log-rolled herself across the frozen yard until she reached the back steps and was able to use the railing and steps to hoist herself to her feet.

Needless to say we were all shocked speechless when we heard her story. She thought it was funny. Dad was furious. I said, “Mom, what would you have done if you couldn’t get up using the stairs? You could have frozen to death!”

She said, “No. I would have rolled back to Charlie pen and slept with him in his doghouse.”

Actually, that wasn’t a bad plan B. My mother should have been a writer. You can’t make this stuff up.
Her life has been amazing and it isn’t slowing down although I imagine her guardian angel is getting worn out. God willing, I wish her many more adventures, just not the scary ones. Her kids can't take much more.
Pat

6 comments:

  1. That is amazing!! I can see you look like your mom.
    Margaret

    ReplyDelete
  2. I want to meet your mom. Bring her to ACFW this year.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Margaret, I'd love to age as well as she has.

    Pamela,
    I'm not going to ACFW. I opted to go to RWA national in D.C.

    Maybe next year I can do both.
    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great mom! She is knows how to roll with the punches (no pun intended).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pat,
    Those are amazing stories about your mom.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pat, I like your feisty mama! You mentioned she's Bohemian. I grew up in a Bohemian town, listening to the Czech language, smelling the klobase and kolaches in the local groceries and dancing at the Bohemian and Sokhal Halls. Aw, the memories you brought back with that one word. I LOVE the hearty Bohemian people.

    ReplyDelete

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