"Who was that on the phone?" I asked Rob the other day. "Mom's assisted living home is having a meeting tomorrow night," he answered. Curious, I asked, "What's it about?" "Something about preparedness." Anyone who knows Rob, knows he loves to be prepared, whether earthquake or hurricane, but I thought Christmas was a strange time to plan a meeting on preparedness. ~ The next night we gathered around a long table with other eldery folks and their loved ones. We had no longer sat down than a woman my age leaned over the table towards Rob. "I'm Helen. Did your father die recently?" Rob looked dumbfounded. For not knowing us, she's getting quite personal, I thought. Rob looked at Mom. "When did Dad die?" She snickered, "Don't ask me! You know more than I do." Rob laughed as he answered inquisitive Helen. "I just remember when I told Mom he died, she smiled and said, 'Looks like I won!'" The three of us laughed, wondering why Helen was staring at us with that deer-in-the-headlights look. Then my eyes fell on the sign in the middle of the table. "Look," I pointed to Rob. He whispered to Mom, "We're outta here." I looked at Helen as I stood to leave. "We don't belong here," pointing at the sign that read, How to prepare for the holidays if you've recently lost a loved one. "Mom's ex-husband died four years ago," I whispered. ~ Once in the parking lot, Rob and I couldn't stop laughing. "No wonder Helen and her mother looked at us so wierd. And by the way, next time you get a phone call, find out exactly what kind of preparedness meeting it is!" ~ I must say, there's never a dull moment at The Agape Assisted Living Home. Oceans of blessings, Sharon (picture of Swedish children's Christmas book by Birgitta Ekman)
