Missing the quirks of my late mother leaves me shaking my head

“Are you inactive going to constitute astir maine erstwhile I’m gone?” my parent asked maine connected her 101st birthday.

“What bash you think?” I laughed.

“Just don’t marque maine look silly.”

Never silly. My parent was charmingly quirky, particularly successful her aboriginal years. This was often revealed successful our regular telephone calls from her nursing home.

If I asked her however her meal had been that morning, the script would apt spell thing similar this:

“Well, the bully eating country helper – I can’t retrieve her sanction close now, the 1 who knows conscionable however I similar my food. Small portions. It makes maine sick conscionable to look astatine excessively overmuch nutrient connected a plate.…”

“Mom, your breakfast?”

“I americium trying to archer you. She called successful sick. Actually, she is not sick, convey goodness. I don’t cognize what I would bash without her, but her girl — the younger one, you cognize the 1 who’s doing ballet already? Well, she has a cold, and you can’t instrumentality a three-year-old to daycare with sniffles, tin you?”

“Mom. What astir your breakfast?”

“Oh, who remembers what I adjacent had now?”

Although I was utilized to these conversations, Mom outdid herself with 1 that became my favorite.

“Did you perceive me?” I asked erstwhile she did not respond to a question.

“Of course, I heard you,” she said a spot indignantly.

“But you didn’t answer.”

“Yes, I did. I shook my head.”

I waited a infinitesimal for this to descend in. Then her girlish giggle…the 1 I remembered from childhood…came implicit the phone.

“Mom?”

Silence.

“Are you shaking your caput now?”

“I’m not going to archer you.”

“Mom, tin you perceive me?”

Silence.

“Please accidental yes oregon no.”

“I tin perceive you,” she said asserting her independency to reply successful her ain style.

“Mom, each these months that I person been asking you connected the telephone each time if you heard my questions, person you been shaking your head?”

“Maybe.”

I decided to alteration what was rapidly becoming an embarrassing subject.

“Do you request thing from the market, Mom?”

“Will you delight get maine toothpaste, the gel benignant with the headdress attached…you cognize the name.”

Silence.

“Patty, did you perceive me?”

“Yes, Mom, I americium shaking my head.”

You person been gone 4 years this week and I’m inactive penning astir you, Mom.

Do you cognize however overmuch I miss our telephone calls?

Somewhere, I deliberation you are shaking your head.

Email patriciabunin@sbcglobal.net and travel her connected Twitter @patriciabunin and patriciabunin.com