Adventures in dining

Priscilla, Michael, Kathleen and I had dinner today with Mrs. R. and John.

Dinner with an 88-year-old Alzheimer’s woman and a physically 57-year-old man/mentally 6-year-old boy presents, ah, opportunities to practice the patience not asked for but I got the chance anyway.

At my pickup, after getting Mrs. R. and John in Michael’s car for the trip back to Mrs. R.’s assisted living place, I said to Priscilla, “It certainly is an adventure.”

“What, going out with Mother and John?”

“Yep.”

“You should try doing it by yourself,” she said.

A week ago Saturday, she had that experience. I stayed at home for the annual termite inspection. Priscilla drove the 140 miles to Texarkana and signed out John from his group home. She then drove to Mrs. R.’s assisted living place and signed her out.

John can walk unaided, but requires time to get anywhere and additional time to get into and out of a car. Mrs. R. uses a walker at the speed one would expect from someone who is 12 years from being a century old.

Priscilla got both into her car and drove to a restaurant. She stopped near the handicap area and got her mother’s walker from the car and then her mother and John. She told them to stay there while she parked. Then, she guided her mother and John into the restaurant and to a table.

Within a minute of being seated, Mrs. R. said, “It’s cold in here.” She had declined Priscilla’s suggestion of taking a jacket into the restaurant. Priscilla now said she would go to the car and get a jacket. She told Mrs. R. and John to stay at the table.

While she was gone, she later discovered, a waitress went to the table and asked Mrs. R., “Were those purses here when you sat down?” She referred, of course, to Priscilla’s purse and Mrs. R.’s purse.

Mrs. R. replied, “Well, I haven’t seen those purses before.” The waitress took the purses to the checkout area.

Priscilla returned with Mrs. R.’s jacket. She helped Mrs. R. put on the jacket. She noticed the purses were gone. She said, “What happened to our purses?”

Mrs. R. replied, “Well, I don’t know. I don’t think we brought purses.”

It is an adventure.