Spotting My Mom

When I go to the park with my mom, I feel a certain excitement and trepidation. I follow her as she walks around, holding onto railings. The wheelchair becomes her destination. She is like a toddler learning to walk, only larger and slower. I try to stay within a foot of her. Along the way, there are ferns, butterflies, flowering shrubs, and the occasional mushroom, which my mom finds beautiful. I’ve always known her to hold a certain fascination for fungi.

A year ago, I wouldn’t have given much thought to the remote control boats flying around the pool, other than the noise they make. Now with my mom in such a frail state, I’m afraid one of these boats might launch out of the pool and hit her. As we walked by, I tried to push her wheelchair as quickly as I could, without alarming her.

During lunch at a dim sum restaurant, my mom suddenly got up and announced she was going to the bathroom. We happened to be at a place where there was an accessible bathroom. I followed her closely. She was confused about which type of paper to use and threw a couple of paper towels in the toilet, which I wasn’t able to flush. Since I had to spot her every step of the way, we ended up leaving the toilet in a less than ideal state. During lunch at a dim sum restaurant, my mom suddenly got up and announced she was going to the bathroom. We happened to be at a place where there was an accessible bathroom. I followed her closely. She was confused about which type of paper to use and threw a couple of paper towels in the toilet, which I wasn’t able to flush. Since I had to spot her every step of the way, we ended up leaving the toilet in a less than ideal state.

We got back safely to the table. I thought lunch was going pretty well until my mom said she’d heard reports that I was a witch. She didn’t say she believed the reports. I simply said that wasn’t true, and she dropped the subject. I never know when a comment like this is coming. I’m just relieved when the conversation moves on.

Mobility opens new possibilities in her mind. While she was having dinner at her nursing home two days ago, I told her it was time for me to go home. She said she wanted to leave with me and started getting up. I said I had a job interview, which seemed to be acceptable answer for the time being.