Not a Quiet Day that's for sure

Technology can stress a person out.  And when you're my mom's age, it can be the end of humanity.

She was hoping we could get some type of power saver to help on saving on electricity.  After the fact, we realized that this was probably a scam.  I had trouble helping her order it because I entered her credit card information incorrectly the first couple of times.  And then it said that it declined.  We knew that wasn't the case.  The credit card company left a message for us about it.

I called the credit card company for my mom and gave her the phone when a person came on the line. I just went to the bathroom and that was probably my first mistake.  When I came out, my mom was looking frantically for her credit card.  It must have dropped.  I found it and then the woman was gone.  She was frustrated.  I said well I'll stay in the room and take the phone if you need help.  Stupid nature. 

I couldn't get a dial tone.  Then it appeared that the internet went out. Something got disconnected.  When it happens to me, I just start swearing.  I just thought what happened?  My poor mom thought it was the end of the world.

As I told her later, unless you put a laptop in a microwave after spilling lemonade on it, you're not dumb.  I know an attorney that did that.  I said I didn't realize my laptop was sitting in a pool of water after I spilled water on it.  Yeah.  I didn't want to admit that to anyone.  Some of my team members think I'm a yahoo from the Midwest.  I'm a nice yahoo and I don't want need anymore people making fun of me.

I was going to have a service tech out here because the girl at Spectrum couldn't figure it out and neither could I.  It seemed so simple. I found a cord that wasn't connected to anything and I thought what is the connection?  After I hung up, I explained what I thought it was and I kept telling her, Really, this is simple.  It's not complicated.  She asked me if I wanted light and I said sure.  When she said she couldn't figure out why the light wouldn't turn on, the light turned on for me.

There's a switch for all of our stupid outlets and I think she just bumped it when she was looking for her credit card.  It turned back on.  Problem solved.  

Then we called the credit card company and she gave them the wrong address.  It was for downstairs and the tears just burst.  

My mom is older. She does forget and I'll admit I'm in denial at times about her age.  She has always been a bit scattered and overwhelmed.  She just couldn't stop crying and it broke my heart.  She's not senile.  She's overwhelmed.  She's going to forget and it was embarrassing for her that she did that.  

She pays her bills online.  I'm the one that mails out stuff.  She's been more in a bubble this last year because of the monster downstairs.  I am hoping that once he vacates she will walk more.  My mom is smarter than she realizes but when something like this happens?  It's just crushing for her.  She's fine.  I do what I do best.  I distracted her by weighing myself and she got happy that I lost some weight.  Yeah.  Me too.  Who thought I was capable?  And that much?  

We crash.  We burn.  We get better.  She's quietly reading.  I know going to the doctor may not have helped.  He told her that her eye vitamins won't make things better.  She said I'm going to believe the eye doctor, not him.  Yeah.  I am too.  He is the expert.  No offense to her doctor.  She's doing better than people her age.  My sister's mother in-law is a year older than my mom and she has given up on life and really doesn't want to do anything.

When the monster downstairs pounded on my ceiling one morning, I was scared and woke her up.  I felt bad when I did it but I was afraid I was going to start.  I was getting over a sinus infection and I think I was still coughing a bit.  I told her it's stopped and I apologized for waking her up.

I was sitting in my room, still stunned and she came in to tell me for all the noise he makes, I can f-ing river dance on his ceiling and see how he likes it.

I had to go to the cancer center that afternoon and I left early because well, I was mad.  But before I did, I found my mom with her coat on and looking out my bedroom window waiting for the monster to come outside with his dogs.  She said I'm going to have a word with him and I told her it's ok.  When I got to the center, she called me.  She had pounded on the monster's door and she heard him put the chain on his door.  She said "Coward" out loud.

When he and his first girlfriend moved in, we offered them the washer that we couldn't get fixed.  We thought he might know how to fix it and he was happy to take it. The washer was parked by the washer and dryer that they did wind up getting shortly after that.  My mom pushed it across the basement floor over to our side of where we kept our stuff in the basement and loaded it up with books.  The monster never moved it back.  The next time the monster saw my mom, he was in a strangely nice mood and said Hello to her.

Her response?  Drop dead.

My mom is older but she's a gangster.  I don't like seeing the sad gangster.  I showed up for a dermatology appointment a day early.  I really don't judge people on what they can and can't remember.

I hope I remembered to cancel the technician for tomorrow.  I guess I got something to remember now.