The Doctor Visit

Okay, I know it's been less than a week since I last posted, but that's okay, it just seems like a week to me.

My mother-in-law is pretty cool. Whenever I am at her house and she offers me something and I say, "No, thank you", boy, she just grabs that and runs for a touchdown with it. Everything from the sarcastic repeating of "No, thank you" to rolling eyes to mumbling to threats of never offering me a damn thing ever again. Today was an exception, sort of. I was driver of her truck to take her to a doctor appointment (we try to not let her drive - I'll explain later) and I had to make an emergency Pepsi stop before we got onto the freeway. Driving away, she began a tirade about me and how I wouldn't take a Pepsi from her but I would buy one at a store. I mentioned that I would have taken one had we gone to her house to pick her up (her daughter-in-law drove her to my house), but that only got her started. I mistakenly said that she should have brought one with her, for me. Her response? "What, do you think I'm stupid and carry one in my purse?!?!?" I think I smiled, but knew better than to laugh outright.

My mother-in-law is 82 years old and her reflexes are not the best anymore, thus we tend to arrange her appointments where one of the children can drive her. With a daughter, son, daughter-in-law and son-in-law within 10 miles of her house, we are pretty adept at getting to her before she manages to get into her truck and make a drive on her own. I haven't been here long enough to observe her driving, but the stories told to me have been more than enough to make me side with the other kids and not let her get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

The only problem with the drive today was the amount of sunlight mixed with snow covered plains on both sides of the freeway. Ever try to drive through sunlit snow without snowglasses? I was squinting so hard my sinuses clogged. The only other part that was somewhat disconcerting were the occasional quiet times. When you have one male and three females in a vehicle and all three females stop talking, you can bet on one of two things - one is that one of them made a faux pas and was waiting for me to get mad/sad/whatever and the other is that one of them made a comment/question and they were waiting for me to get mad/sad/whatever. I have found that my best response is the best response that any male can give in that kind of situation - "What?"

All in all, a good visit to the doctor and now Mom has to go to physical therapy for her arm. Just don't ask her how her heart is. That is, unless you are ready for at least 15 minutes of "The left side is good, the right side is good, etc., etc."

I need a shower and some sleep. How about you?