Mom and I had a good laugh last night. The temperature in our area reached well over 100 degrees, but, with the help of thermal windows and curtains and several area fans, our house stayed reasonably cool until mid-afternoon. I have the thermostat set at 80 degrees, which is a little above my comfort zone, but it is more economical and keeps the air conditioning from totally freezing Mom out.
After dinner, during Mom’s favorite show, Do You Want to be a Millionaire, I got up to offer ice cream to her and Don. As I turned to face her, saying, “Do you want...,” my eyes took in her sweatshirt hood pulled up over her head and I stopped short. She looked so diminutive in the chair that all she needed was a fur lining to her hood and she would have completed the picture of an elderly Eskimo hunched in our living room. I couldn’t help but think that her wanting ice cream at this point was out of the question.
I started laughing and so did she, but she hastened to ask me, “Do I want ice cream?” Then, without any pause as I nodded, “Yes, I want a maple nut ice cream cone if you have enough.” She assured me that the hood was just to protect her ear from the cold air coming out of the register across the room and that she was, otherwise, comfortable.
Ice cream cones have curative powers, after all; especially for children and grandparents. That is a known fact at our house. Remember how Betty loved hers? Even Alzheimers couldn't obliterate that memory. Our kids sure seemed to understand their value at a very early age, as our little redhead can attest below. (Notice that it is a grandparent who is indoctrinating her.)
After dinner, during Mom’s favorite show, Do You Want to be a Millionaire, I got up to offer ice cream to her and Don. As I turned to face her, saying, “Do you want...,” my eyes took in her sweatshirt hood pulled up over her head and I stopped short. She looked so diminutive in the chair that all she needed was a fur lining to her hood and she would have completed the picture of an elderly Eskimo hunched in our living room. I couldn’t help but think that her wanting ice cream at this point was out of the question.
I started laughing and so did she, but she hastened to ask me, “Do I want ice cream?” Then, without any pause as I nodded, “Yes, I want a maple nut ice cream cone if you have enough.” She assured me that the hood was just to protect her ear from the cold air coming out of the register across the room and that she was, otherwise, comfortable.
Ice cream cones have curative powers, after all; especially for children and grandparents. That is a known fact at our house. Remember how Betty loved hers? Even Alzheimers couldn't obliterate that memory. Our kids sure seemed to understand their value at a very early age, as our little redhead can attest below. (Notice that it is a grandparent who is indoctrinating her.)
Have you had your ice cream cone for the week? Life will be much sweeter if you do so quit being such a stuffy grown up and go have some fun. Put the world on hold for five minutes, sit in your favorite spot, get your hands and chin sticky with your favorite flavor, and see if you can’t relax a little and see things from a different perspective.
It is SO worth it!
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