I Lost Mama in Wal-Mart



My mama doesn't drive. She depends on us kids to take her where she needs to go and I am so happy to be able to do that for her. Whenever she has doctor appointments, I'm the D.D. She is really good about scheduling them on the same day, for times sake. Yesterday, was one of those days.

Mama is in her 70's and is basically healthy. Although, she does have some bummed-up feet and ankles, which makes walking distances a little challenging.  But, she never complains, ever!

I picked her up promptly at 8 a.m. yesterday morning for her first appointment. Our usual thing is that I drop her off at the doctor's office and I go run a few errands and by the time I get back, she is usually finishing up. Yesterday, mama informed me that she had to fast for her first appointment, so she would be needing breakfast soon after. So, I offered to make breakfast for her at my house because I had some things I needed to do at home and that suited her just fine. We had breakfast and just hung out for a couple of hours until we needed to leave for the second appointment. Well, I say we hung out. She is one of The Weather Channel's biggest fans. And she was glued to the T.V. Have you ever tried to listen to two people at once? You look at the person talking to you and appear to be interested in what they are saying, but at the same time trying to hear what's happening on t.v. You turn your head quickly to catch a glimpse of the t.v. and then turn back to the person talking to you. And who knows which you heard or if you were even listening.  HaHa, well that's what mama was doing to me. She cracks me up!

Now, mama had already planned where she wanted to go for lunch because it was close to Wal-Mart and she needed to get a couple of things from there, if we had the time. She wanted to go to Firehouse Subs. She reminisced about how when daddy was alive, they went to Wal-Mart every Friday night and either went to Taco Bell or Firehouse Subs for dinner, afterwards. Only thing was, when we arrived there yesterday, Firehouse Subs was no longer open. It had disappeared, since her last trip to Wal-Mart, apparently. So she decided that since we were there, we should go to Wal-Mart first and then grab a sandwich from Subway when we were finished. She had already told me that she hoped to get out of Wal-Mart without buying anything other than what was on her list. She only had two things on it. And I jokingly told her that if she did, she was getting 50 lashes with a wet noodle. We were starting to push the envelope on time, but I didn't say anything. I wanted her to be able to do what she needed without feeling rushed. But, to expedite the Wal-Mart trip, she went one way and I went the other. I needed a couple of things, too. Mama told me that if she got finished before me, that she would just have a seat on the bench up front and wait.

I finished picking up the things I needed and scanned the check-out lines for mama but, didn't see her. I continued on through the check-out line and walked to the said bench and still no mama. So, I walked slowly to the car, unloaded my bags and decided to go back inside once more to look for her. I checked in the pharmacy section, which is where she was supposed to be. No mama. I walked back to the check-out lines and no mama. It crossed my mind to have her paged. I was going to have the clerk say, "Ms. Pat, paging Ms. Pat. Your daughter has wet noodles waiting for you in the check-out line." OMG, she would have died. HaHa! So, instead I decided to head to the grocery section and check up and down every aisle. Still, no mama. How could one woman with bummed-up feet be so elusive? I called my sister, Carla, and said, "You think mama can't walk around that good? Well let me tell you....just take her to Wal-Mart. I can't find her and I have been all over this store. I HAVE lost mama in Wal-Mart."  HaHa!!! Carla said, "Check up front. When she gets tired she will sit on one of the benches and wait." I told her that I had already done that...twice. We started laughing and all of sudden I run right into her. Mama was in the Movie Section.

I said, "Mama, I have been looking all over this store for you. Are you ready? We need to hurry, if you still want to go to Subway." She just ignored me and kept right on walking. She was on a mission to find a certain movie and nothing was slowing her down until she found it. And that wasn't even on her list. I said, "Wet noodles, Mama!" She just laughed. Obviously, she didn't take me seriously. HaHa!!

Well, we had just enough time to go through the Subway drive-through and make it to her doctor's appointment on time. All was well! But listen, getting blown off by your 70-something-year old mother twice in one day?  I just plain don't know what to think about that. And don't be thinking you could have done anything differently. Mama may not drive and she may hobble a little when she walks, but do not underestimate this woman on her Wal-Mart missions.

Loving My Mama,

Laurie