The Oil is Heating Up

I can't think of a better way to describe her except for comparing her to popcorn.  She is a 72 year old woman, spicy and sassy, the middle child of 9 children and my mother.  She is in her Golden Buttery stage of life where she has lived a full life, however, she still has some popcorn seeds to still pop.  Sometimes she is as stubborn as those bottom of the kettle seeds that are slightly browned but for whatever reason doesn't want to pop because it just doesn't want to.  But when things heat up in her life she is on a roll and the popcorn is hitting the roofing of the kettle top like a fire cracker.  One thing you should know about her is that NO ONE messes with her family.  She is tough as the hard shell around anunpopped seed, but she is a loving and caring as a mother should be.  This is her. 

I will be posting some past, present and future thoughts on her.  But one thing I will tell you, I am blessed to have her. Sure there are better flavored and quality popcorn out there and there are worse, but this is the one that God chose me to have.  And because of that, I am truly, truly blessed to have her.

Today is just one of those days that we are unsure of the temperature of the oil in the pot.  She is a bit temper mental.  She has to decide if moving to an apartment is what she really wants to do.  She has lived with me for more than half of my married life.  For whatever reason, no one wants to really live with their parents when they are married, but when there is a loss of job, medical reasons or in transition, we have found ourselves under one roof.

She is getting nervous over the move.  This particular seed has made it a habit of moving every two years since her late 50's. You do the math. She feels the need to be in a new living environment.  It makes her feel refreshed being around new people. Gypsy. Mind you, every other two years of my marriage, she was with me.  My brother and my husband are her beckon call movers.  And I will tell you, both of them are tired of that thankless job.  She doesn't even ask.  She just tells them and they know, out of family respect, they have to do it.

There are 4 days left until she has to give them the deposit.  She is pacing the house, she is snapping at the dogs and she is telling off the people on the television.  As if they can hear.  She is just unsure if that is where she wants to live.  She wanted a one-bedroom apartment, but this particular complex only has studio apartments available. She does have an option to move into a one-bedroom apartment when one becomes available, and its a matter of moving her AGAIN, from one floor to another.  So she is upset. 

I came to realize when your parents get older, they really don't have any patience.  They really are set in their ways.  They are more verbal and opinionated on things that they cannot control.  My father for instance, who is divorced from her, but they remain friends, when he gets hungry, he starts pacing the house.  He doesn't have any patience waiting for me to cook him something so he wants to go out to eat.  If everyone else is not moving fast enough, he turns into Joe Pesci from those Snickers commercials where he starts throwing a fit.  Well it works for him because everyone moves and drives that much quicker to make the Joe Pesci turn back into the loving grandfather we all know.  Both of my parents are very active in their old age and sassy. 

My father is almost 80 and is a sheriff in Stuart County, Florida.  This is not what he did his whole life.  My dad was a mechanical engineer for most of his life.  After he retired from Pratt Whitney in Florida, he got bored immediately in retirement and went to school to become a Physician Assistant.  After he did that for a few years, he wanted to do something different.  He wanted to just volunteer and be a crossing guard.   Well he found out that they are part of the sheriff department and had to take a test.  So he went and took the test for the crossing guard position and passed it with flying colors.  Now he wears a badge and uniform.  He is part of the donut and coffee club.  He loves it, because he says, once you wear a badge and uniform, you automatically get respect.

Today is 55 degrees and a bit cloudy.  Not exactly no jacket weather but a good thick sweatshirt and pants should do the trick.  Well, she is still pacing the house and is convinced that it should be sunny and 70 degrees outside.  Its spring outside.  She has lived in the Wisconsin for over 60 years.  If any of you have lived in Wisconsin, you should know that weather cannot be fore casted.  It changes by the hour.  For instance, my wedding day on November 23rd in 1991 was a prime example.  In the morning it was slightly cloudy.  After I got my hair done mid-morning, it was sunny and in the 60's.  After the church ceremony, went back to cloudy and very windy.  My wedding dress blew over my head as I was getting into the Lincoln Town car.  By the time we went to the reception area, the temperature was dropping to 25 to 30 degrees out and it started raining/sleeting.  By the end of the reception we somehow had ice on the parking lot and 2 inches of snow.

So because she feels it should be spring she is wearing a pair of jean shorts that comes down to her knees, a jean jacket and a denim shirt underneath.  She is the leathery Marlboro guy, just short of the cowboy hat.  However, her attitude changed for the better.  Ten bucks says she is going to complain about how cold it is when she gets back from checking her lotto numbers and getting a gallon of milk.  The answer to all of my mother's problems is winning the lottery.  She is an advid lottery player.  Not an advid lottery winner.