Monday 30 May 2011

Tuesday is town day

As I seem to be using this blog to give you an insight into my life and lifestyle I thought today I will talk about my Tuesday trips to the town with my mum. Thinking about it earlier I realise this is something that we've done now for four years. When I could no longer work outside of the home I started a private practice from my home but even then I kept my Tuesdays free as the day i spent with my mum. Back then it could last all day as well, of course as times have changed and my condition has worsened the time we spend at the town and what we actually do there has had to change, but Tuesday is still town with mum day.I would like to introduce you to my mother, a lady of 77 years of age who is convinced she is still in her 20s , she has divicular disease and last year was diagnosed with lupus but has that stopped her? not at all. My dad is happy to stay at home doing his crossword puzzles and reading and listening to his music but if my mum couldn't get out even just for a short while each day she swears she would go stir crazy & most days she can be found trotting along to the local shops to pick up a paper for dad and any other bits they need. Neither of my parents drive and so it started that once a week I would take her shopping for the heavy items and a weeks worth of groceries and Tuesday at the town was born.A few years back this shopping trip could take us all day, in and out of every shop, window shopping and several coffee breaks before finally ending up in Tesco for the weekly shop.Unfortunately as I've said that has had to change due to necessity and the time that we spend in the town is now shorter and the majority of that is spent in British home stores cafe having mother and daughter discussions over coffee. As I am no longer able to drive my husband is now the chauffeur for our shopping trips , after calling around for my mother he drops us at the entrance to the shopping mall , I used to use a walking stick but as my hands have got worse I am no longer able to do so and generally hold onto the arm of the person that I am with , I swear my mum is getting shorter week by week as I am having to bend quite significantly now to be able to hold onto her arm and I should imagine we make quite a picture the pair of us shuffling through the mall.I think my mum has reached that age where she will say what she likes and not expect anybody to reprimand her on it & feels justified to pass comments rather loudly about people as they pass us or approach us, their dress sense, their child's behaviour, in fact anything that takes her fancy. Do you know how hard it is to try to appear as if you're not with somebody when you're clinging on to their arm? Another of my mums foibles is collecting paper napkins, don't ask me why, Maybe there was a paper napkin shortage when she was a child or something , anyway she takes handfuls of them anywhere we go and I know she has a secret stash of them at home somewhere . But British home stores have got wise, now they don't leave their paper napkins where you can help yourself to them and you actually have to ask the girl on the till to give you some, so next time you're getting frustrated because you can't find any paper napkins to help yourself to,I'm sorry it's my mums fault! Our next step is Wilkinson's, I lean on the shopping trolley here so my mum once again has the freedom to wander off at her will, she seems to have an attraction to the children's toys particularly those that make some kind of a noise and is in her element starting them all off , Christmas is an absolute nightmare as there are so many more buttons to be pushed and dancing singing noisy things that she can set off. Many a time I've been chatting away gaily only to turn around and find that she's no longer with me,Normally I find that she has been joined in the toy aisle by several children and is showing them which toys make the most noise!
The next and final stop is Tesco, I can't walk around there now, it's no longer possible so I go out of the mall and sit on a bench and wait for mum to come out and hubby to come and pick us up, I still don't understand why her shopping trolley is so full when she comes out, there are only two of them but I never say anything because I know she gets just as much enjoyment out of grocery shopping as she does any kind of shopping, my mum is the queen of shopping and those few hours every Tuesday just me and her are precious.



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