June
June began with a morning conference with my boss who would later have me taking her place at a meeting at the Commissioner's Office. The only other thing of importance that we discussed was her suggestion that I add "I Love Lucy" to my repertoire of dvd sessions with Mom. The timing couldn't have been better because the meeting was a stone's throw away from JRMusic World and a lot of the collectors sets would still have sales tags attached to them from the previous Tuesday when the shipments come in (at least, that's the official explanation - I think they just forget to take the tags off sometimes.)
In any event, I was able to pick up four complete seasons of the show for just $60. I seem to recollect that it wasn't long after the fourth season that the Ricardo family decided to follow the Goldbergs and a lot of other shows that began with New York City storylines to the suburbs and would begin experimenting with an hour-long format. But, I digress.
The next day, I was able to swing by extra early to the nursing home and actually got there before dinner. I was so anxious to play the dvds for Mom that I didn't even tell Mom where we were going, or even tell her that I was there before wheeling her toward the elevator bank. along the way I had stopped by her room to steal a sheet to cover her, but, when I encountered Gloria, the PA that regularly puts her to bed at night, she looked at the sheet and started scolding me. "Next time, ask one of us if you need a sheet. We'll get one for you. Don't just take a sheet from her bed."
She was really serious about it, and I apologized immediately. But, to tell you the truth, to this day, I don't quite know what I did that was so wrong, unless they count the linen at the end of the day, like receipts from a cash register. She also might have mentioned something about Mom requiring special sheets, but, again, i didn't quite understand her completely because of the difference in our accents (Gloria is West Indian). I know Gloria has said in the past that Mom has "thin skin". Is it possible they have special sheets for people with sensitive skin?
I don't know. I just knew I had only so much time to visit Mom before she would have to be back at the dining room for dinner. I had the Panama hat but, decided not to place it on Mom's head until we situated ourselves in the patio. But, almost as soon as I pressed the knob to open the sliding glass door, Mom seemed to react to the wind gusts that greeted us upon entering out of doors. It wasn't particularly cold, just breezy. The sheets I had risked so much in pilfering now billowed as I pushed the barco lounger across the concrete deck.
I'm convinced in my own Jimmy Stewart addled way that Mom said, "There's a North wind blowing!", or something extremely close to it. At first, I thought the barco lounger had caught one of the sheets in its wheels and that was what Mom was upset about. But, by the time I could sto pushing the wheels and get around to get a closer look, it was clear that she was talking about the wind, "Is there a window open?" she asked plaintively.
"You're outside."
"I'm outside right now?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Better take me back inside, then"
And, that was that. But, just before the sliding door there was a pool of sunlight. As a last resort I posied the barco lounger right in its center and shoved the Panama hat on Mom's head to shade her eyes. But, it did no good. "I don't want to be hot either", Mom said.
That was probably the most assertive Mom has been since she arrived at the nursing home.