Oh, gee! My AARP application came today. And, it isn’t the first one I’ve received! But, today I’m talking about OLD people, those older than I am.
One thing I learned a long, long time ago… The older I got, the smarter my mother became. But, those days are closed. My mother made the transition in 1994. So, today I am left with a mother-in-law. Some of our history has been rocky but of late we have shared a few laughs. To update anyone who is new to this blog, my mother-in-law has Stage IV cancer and although she seems to be doing well since the round of chemo, she is a little more fragile than she was a year or so ago.
My mother-in-law is almost 87. And, for the past year or so we have lived together along with my husband, who is an incomplete quadriplegic. Both my mother-in-law and husband have had a rough two years. I find myself in one of those situations where my primary role is caregiver.
Yesterday I mentioned an acquaintance who loves misery and loves anyone who is miserable. Apparently, she ran into “misery overload” last night or early this morning. She rang me up to invite herself over for a visit. Okay… I didn’t offer her my tea time, but I did say I would be available for an hour or so this morning.
We shared a cup of coffee and Danish this morning. I do hope she didn’t notice my eyes rolling back in my head as she took a trip down misery lane, recounting the weekend’s arguments. Now, to be honest, I asked my mother-in-law if she would like to join us this morning. She always enjoys chatting with anyone and everyone who pops in. Besides, she is so happy to see a new face that she is willing to participate in a conversation, no matter the topic. And, of course, it seems more and more that she doesn’t have as much recall as she once did. So, when the visitor began the indulgence into her weekend’s escapades, my mother-in-law was most attentive and paid attention as if the story had not been told in some form or another a thousand times before. But, God bless her. I am sure had it not been for her occasional question or comment, the visitor would have noticed that I had escaped the conversation, at least mentally.
I suppose the coffee cups were down to the last drop as I heard the woman say, “So, you see, I am so bored with life.”
My mother-in-law nodded as if she knew exactly what the woman meant.
As if for emphasis, the visitor repeated, this time accompanying her words with a huge sigh, “I am so bored.”
My mother-in-law took that sigh to be a signal for her to speak, I suppose. “I’ve always thought that people who are bored must be boring.” There was a slight pause. “Yes, I think you are boring.”
The visitor didn’t linger much longer. My mother-in-law decided it was time for a nap and meandered back to her room with the dog at her heels.
I poured another cup of coffee and pinched the corner of the remaining Danish. I really needed to ponder my mother-in-law’s words. Bored people are boring people. Perhaps, most people have realized that already. I had not. However, now that I have thought about it, my mother-in-law has moments of wisdom amid the cloud of confusion and forgetfulness. I’ve known lots of old people who have dropped little pearls of wisdom during a conversation. For those times and for those people, I am thankful.
I’ve had a bit of a smile on my face all morning. Yep, bored people are boring people.
