More priceless time

I stopped in to see the folks after work today since 1) I hadn't been there in a few days and 2) Gabby will be at class tonight and Mike is off snowmobiling again so I am left all alone this evening. We visited for a few minutes and caught up on some of the latest 'gossip'. I brought her my Kindle Fire to show her as my sister, Cyndi, has been letting her use her Kindle and it is kind of small and difficult to handle. I kind of dangled the carrot that if she would get internet connection and have a, oh say, Kindle Fire, herself then she could look up the news stories that she wanted to see, look at the obituaries in the Globe Gazette, the possibilities are endless. "Really?", was all she could muster. She did ask that "if she musters up the courage" would I be able to help her get set up? I might be able to bring this lady into the world of technology yet!



After this she started to get mysterious. Dad was sitting at the table reading the paper and she quietly said, "In 5 minutes he will go in to watch Jeopardy and then I have something I want to talk to you about and some things I want you to have." Intriguing. Just like clockwork, Dad got up and went in and settled in his chair for an episode of Jeopardy and she said, "Follow me."

She grabbed her walker and I followed her down the hallway and into their bedroom. She had been cleaning out drawers. She said, "I have a found a few things that I want you to have." She proceeded to give me a wooden music box that, when opened, has a well for powder and a powder puff with a mirror on the lid. I am not sure just what the song is that it plays -- she said she never cared for the song much but the person who gave her the box did and that was what mattered. She also gave me a small ring box from Post Jewelers in Decatur, IL with a ring with a blue stone in it. These items were given to my mother by her high school sweetheart, Jack Harshman. She also gave me something that I remembered seeing periodically from my childhood, a wooden cutout with a picture of my mom and Jack on it. As we gazed on the picture, she said, "Isn't he dreamy?" They had quite the romance in their day. Jack gave my mother the ring and she said that "when you got jewelry from Post Jewelers, you knew you had GOOD jewelry." Mom also said that she was so lucky to have had the time she had with Jack, she said that she learned a lot from him about life and had a lot of good times with him but she knew that he was never "husband material". He was quite the looker, he would sing into her ear while they danced and he had a 'silver tongue'. However, he wanted more from my mother than she was willing to give and when she was unwilling to give this he looked to others on the sly. My mom was not stupid, she knew full well what he was up to, and that was why she had to end that relationship.

After this, the conversation turned more intriguing. She told me she wanted to talk about something that she had not even talked to my sister, Deb, about -- actually she feared talking about it with her because she figured she would yell at her and lecture her. Mom had recently been referred to a cardiologist for tachycardia. Deb went with her to this appointment and he ordered some tests and then she got a card in the mail that she is to be seen by another cardiologist after these tests are completed. Mom told me that she does not wish to have the tests performed. She feels that she has lived her life, her body is shot and even if they find something is wrong with her heart, she is not going to do anything about it anyway. I told her that I totally understood. She is still afraid of what Deb will say but she has my full support and after our little talk, I told her where to call to cancel the tests and the appointments.

Finally, Mom, in an 'oh by the way' manner, said, "Oh, there is one more thing....you might not want it though. Would you like to have the necklace that I wore at my wedding?" Fighting back tears, I told her that I would love more than anything to care for that necklace. I always admired it as a child when she would let me look in her jewelry box. I even borrowed it once for an outfit for a special occasion.

Cleaning out her drawers and closets has definitely made Mom more weepy. She spoke more often today of Lola Eisenman and how much she misses her. Mom also admitted that she came upon my Uncle John's friend, Evelyn's obituary and picture and this made her eyes well up with tears. February is a tough month for the Corman family...the majority of her family members have passed away in February. Uncle Johnny and my mom used to joke that if they made it through February they were good for another year! Maybe all of this is just her way of dealing with what might be her last February. Who knows? I got yet another chance to spend a priceless hour with her and I promised her that I would come to spend time with her on Saturday -- she got so excited and said she would have plenty of work lined up for me to do! Yeah, I have plenty of work to do here at home but that will still be here...my mother won't always be.