Good Days And Bad Days

"How's your mom?" 

"Oh...she has her good days and her bad days."

I wonder how many times those two sentences are repeated on any given day. "Mom" can be anyone...dad, husband, sister, brother...eventually most of us end up asking that question and/or answering that question. And sometimes we end up as the subject of that short conversation.

But this post is not intended to be a downer. I visit the nursing home at least once a week these days. Yes, sometimes it is a downer, but there's humor there too. My mom has a roommate now. I was fearful that this would not work out. My mom has never really seemed to relish the company of her fellow elderlies. (Yes, spell check...I know that "elderlies" is not a word. And I know that I sometimes write incomplete sentences. I do it for effect. OK????? But I digress...)

Where was I? Oh, yes. My mom has a roommate now. I was concerned, but it seems to be working out. And I think I've figured out why. My mom is not going gently into that good night. Not at all. She complains about everything...at least for the length of time she can remember any given complaint. And then it's on to a new complaint. Apparently very few of the employees at this nursing home are of acceptable repute. And thus she has found a compatriot. A bond has been formed.

Her roommate's name is Thelma. The nurses refer to them as "Thelma and Louise", because every time they check on them, "Thelma and Louise" are - in the nurses' words - "thick as thieves".

That's because they are complaining bitterly to one another about the nurses and other employees. And they both believe that there is an evil doctor who concocts unreasonable rules that everyone must obey. The latest grievance is that the evil doctor will not allow the patients to have fly-swatters.

And they both seem to be under the perpetual misconception that Thelma is about to be shipped out. My mom told me Sunday that they (the evil people who run the nursing home) believe that Thelma is not a citizen. Apparently she may be deported back to Iran at any moment. 

 

Just for clarity...if Thelma is Iranian, she has done a superb job in concealing her true identity. Starting with the fact that her parents named her Thelma. Not a common name for an Iranian. 

 

I'm pretty sure that they occasionally have little spats. But it's okay, because neither of them is going to remember it for longer than a couple of hours.

 

Some of you may be thinking that I'm being insensitive. I just don't think it's right to make light of such things...not right attawl. (that's "at all" for you non-southerners) But I imagine that those of you who have been through this with someone close to you will totally understand. You have to find humor any way that you can. It's how we humans survive, is it not?

And, just for full disclosure...I've had to pull up Thesaurus.com in order to think of a word or two that didn't come to mind right away. So, in a sense (how to you spell sense?)...I'm expressing my own frustration with this issue of aging. I have my good days...and I have my bad days. On a good day, I don't need a Thesaurus. On a bad day...what was I talking about?