Audrey and Brenda, Circa 1958
My mother, Audrey, celebrated a birthday today. She is in
great health, and I was able to spend the afternoon with her. She lives in an
independent apartment about 6 minutes from me.
Neither one of us is ready to go into a restaurant to eat so I stopped at one of her favorite places, Ziingo, in Portage, Michigan. My mom calls it the Thai place. It is more Asian fusion, but I know what she is talking about.
The workers guide you through your order. There is a chalkboard of the daily options. I started with two bowls of pad Thai noodles, added chicken, veggies, and sauce for me. No sauce for my mom. I declined any appetizers, but crab Rangoon is one of my favorites. Last you can add fresh items to the top. I chose spinach for me and carrots for my mom. I delivered it to my mom's apartment, and we enjoyed lunch together. It was delicious.
Since Covid entered our universe, I haven't been able to
spend a lot of time with my mom. The senior living place where she lives has
strict covid protocols. Even today, I had to sign in via a tablet and have my
temperature checked. I am not complaining, I am happy they are keeping their
residents safe. There has been a case or two here and there, but they are doing
a great job with protecting their residents. Masks are required in the common
areas, but once I got into my mom's apartment I could take it off.
I enjoyed my afternoon with my mom. She doesn't use the computer, so I showed her some pictures of her great grandchildren that were on Facebook. I showed her a picture of a friend of hers from when my mom and dad lived in Deckerville. Her friend is 95 years old, and she went on a snowmobile ride. The home where her friend lives videotaped it and put it on their Facebook page. Next, she started asking me if so and so died, so I used my phone and googled a few people for her. Next, I went to two funeral homes that were in small towns where she lived, and she looked at a few obituaries.
It was a different way to spend her birthday, but she is quite isolated from her aging friends that live far away. My dad was the computer person and she never wanted to learn how to use the computer. She didn't even like reading things on the computer. My dad would print it for her.
My mom isn't a big cake person, so I bought lemon bars for her. She loves lemon desserts. One year I made her a lemon meringue pie for her birthday. Since it was just the two of us, I didn't want that much dessert. While we were eating the kitchen sent up three homemade cupcakes with birthday greetings. She will be in a sugar coma if she eats all that. I told her to share them with her friends.
I am fortunate that I still have my mom to celebrate on her birthday. I am the only one of four children that lives in Michigan. The birthday may not have been like they were years ago, but I was happy to celebrate with her.
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