qualified success
Mom wound up having much less energy for doing things than either of us expected, but it was okay and we still had a good time.
Tuesday we got discount tickets for things, and she went on a trolley tour while I worked a bit and hoped my boss would contact me about a Skype meeting. (He did not.) I gave up about four and we went home, read, petted cats, and watched tv. This is when I pointed out my romantic situation and she somehow jumped from my generally-friendly poly arrangement to lesbian drama specifically about the person who was a jerk to her recently and happens to be a lesbian. Sigh.
Wednesday I got a Zipcar and we drove up to Salem to the Peabody Essex Museum, where we vastly enjoyed the Strandbeest exhibit. I got to push one around and make its legs go! (video) The exhibit on Native fashion was also very well done, and we had perfectly reasonable pub lunch once we found a place that was open. Very cool outdoor stick art as well, tall thin nestlike houses.
Instead of going out to a movie, I showed her the Avengers, which she hadn't seen despite liking Iron Man and Thor. She recognized Mark Ruffalo, which as someone who knows him only from the MCU I was rather bewildered by. It's nice that I can just feed my visiting mom leftovers; I know not everyone has this relaxed attitude.
Thursday I had pottery class, and she chose not to come. It ran a bit long, but we managed to meet up at Shake Shack for lunch so I could pass on the gospel of the gingerbread milkshake. Then we went over to my work (one stop on the bus so we didn't have to walk, which gives you an idea of her mobility level) and I showed her my samples, the DNA robot, and the herbarium cabinets and sheets. We were planning on the department holiday party, but she wasn't really up for it and didn't mind not seeing the Natural History Museum (horrifying to me but there it is), so we went home in easy stages of walking and bus.
We talked about how she could maybe get her fitness up, but it's hard to be motivated about this stuff, and she's not sure how much of the problem is left over from her heart attack vs. joint problems. Motivation is even harder when you don't know if the annoying thing will help.
Unfortunately she didn't get to meet anyone except a couple of random co-workers and the annoying roommate (who was at least on good behavior). The roommate I like lent her his bed, so at least she had a good impression of him from a distance!
I'm more worried now than I was, and probably so is she, but I feel like our relationship is all right, so that's an improvement at least. And I get to see her again in a couple of weeks.
This entry was originally posted at http://jinian.dreamwidth.org/668733.html. Respond wherever you like.
Tuesday we got discount tickets for things, and she went on a trolley tour while I worked a bit and hoped my boss would contact me about a Skype meeting. (He did not.) I gave up about four and we went home, read, petted cats, and watched tv. This is when I pointed out my romantic situation and she somehow jumped from my generally-friendly poly arrangement to lesbian drama specifically about the person who was a jerk to her recently and happens to be a lesbian. Sigh.
Wednesday I got a Zipcar and we drove up to Salem to the Peabody Essex Museum, where we vastly enjoyed the Strandbeest exhibit. I got to push one around and make its legs go! (video) The exhibit on Native fashion was also very well done, and we had perfectly reasonable pub lunch once we found a place that was open. Very cool outdoor stick art as well, tall thin nestlike houses.
Instead of going out to a movie, I showed her the Avengers, which she hadn't seen despite liking Iron Man and Thor. She recognized Mark Ruffalo, which as someone who knows him only from the MCU I was rather bewildered by. It's nice that I can just feed my visiting mom leftovers; I know not everyone has this relaxed attitude.
Thursday I had pottery class, and she chose not to come. It ran a bit long, but we managed to meet up at Shake Shack for lunch so I could pass on the gospel of the gingerbread milkshake. Then we went over to my work (one stop on the bus so we didn't have to walk, which gives you an idea of her mobility level) and I showed her my samples, the DNA robot, and the herbarium cabinets and sheets. We were planning on the department holiday party, but she wasn't really up for it and didn't mind not seeing the Natural History Museum (horrifying to me but there it is), so we went home in easy stages of walking and bus.
We talked about how she could maybe get her fitness up, but it's hard to be motivated about this stuff, and she's not sure how much of the problem is left over from her heart attack vs. joint problems. Motivation is even harder when you don't know if the annoying thing will help.
Unfortunately she didn't get to meet anyone except a couple of random co-workers and the annoying roommate (who was at least on good behavior). The roommate I like lent her his bed, so at least she had a good impression of him from a distance!
I'm more worried now than I was, and probably so is she, but I feel like our relationship is all right, so that's an improvement at least. And I get to see her again in a couple of weeks.
This entry was originally posted at http://jinian.dreamwidth.org/668733.html. Respond wherever you like.