Mise en Place

Hey, God

I thought we were getting this year off.

Mom

My Mom will be 89 this summer.  Last week, I took her to the wake of an old friend.  Other than Mom, Mrs H was the last surviving member of the group of four couples that were fast friends for decades. Among them, there were 17 or 18 children.  They had dinner parties, nights at Ravinia; there were graduations, bridal showers, weddings, baby showers for their grandkids; so much laughter, so much celebration.  It’s been painful for Mom to watch them all slip away, and she is feeling very alone, even though she had not seen Mrs. H for several years as her health deteriorated.

I called her yesterday to remind her of a doctor appointment later this week, and she was so down.  She said, “Can I ask you something?  Is Dad dead?”  This has happened before.  She said she knows in her heart that he died, but she wakes in the middle of the night and looks for him, feeling that he is just out of sight.  I know she dreams about him, because she has recounted vivid dreams.  They make her simultaneously melancholy and content, as if Dad had paid a visit.  

Rather than dismiss Mom’s feelings, I told her that I have also felt Dad’s presence lately, particularly as I have worked on building my cedar planters.  I can hear him in my head telling me to check square, measure twice (cut once), not to be so messy with the glue.  That made her laugh, so we talked at length about his projects, and his generosity in lending a hand to his less-skilled friends.

As Mom’s eyesight has deteriorated, she can no longer read.  I have been working on other ways to keep her engaged through her other senses.  Last week, we baked bread together, kneading it by hand and letting the smell of home-baked bread fill her apartment. She really enjoyed that (and her loaf came out looking so much better than mine).

PSA

Great summer white wine, perfect with spicy foods:  Torrontés from Argentina.

Experience Corps

Yesterday morning, I attended an information session on the Experience Corps, a project sponsored by AARP that supplies tutors in K-3 classrooms to improve literacy.  It will be a new program to Chicago public schools, so they are only targeting 15 schools, hoping to reach 3600 students.

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of AARP.  Their one-note stance on so many issues strikes me as somewhat selfish and short-sighted.  I don’t need an organization advocating for me - I’m retired, not dim-witted.  However, this program has some worthy goals, and they don’t require my membership in AARP, so I’m on board.

The requirement is 2 hours, twice a week; set days, set times.  It is a certainty that the school down the street that my children attended will not be on the list, but I am hoping I can be assigned to a school in the neighborhood where my children live now.

I’m excited about this opportunity.  It won’t start until October, but should satisfy my need to do something constructive in retirement.  

As I used to tell my kids, “Only boring people are bored.”