Mom's mind fascinates me. She seamlessly integrates today's reality with her childhood and then collapses her two husbands into a simultaneous moment, all while conducting a conversation real-time as though it's all happening. Her special blend of fiction reminds me of "Ragtime" where novelist E.L. Doctorow wove a story incorporating made-up people with real historical figures such as Harry Houdini, JP Morgan, Sigmund Freud and Henry Ford. But sadly, the tapestry Mom weaves with her imagination cannot cover her frustration or her anger.
Our conversation on August 12 started with her asking, "When is Santa coming?"
Me: "He usually comes at night, after everyone is asleep. Why do you ask?"
Mom: "I want to make sure that I have enough time to take Mama and Daddy to Buddakan [an upscale restaurant in Philadelphia that she has not been to for a decade; and her parents passed away about 40 years ago].
Me: "That's so nice that you want to take your parents out to dinner".
Mom went on to describe how the restaurant has a communal table where she intends to bring a lot of people including her two husbands [both deceased, not in her life simultaneously], plus somebody named Jim.
Me: "So you are planning a whole dinner party?"
Mom: "Yeah, we have and expression around here -- it's called "go fuck yourself". We say it when we invite a lot of people and entertain them, and then they never invite me back to anything. Oh when will this be over? I just want it to end".
Our conversation on August 12 started with her asking, "When is Santa coming?"
Me: "He usually comes at night, after everyone is asleep. Why do you ask?"
Mom: "I want to make sure that I have enough time to take Mama and Daddy to Buddakan [an upscale restaurant in Philadelphia that she has not been to for a decade; and her parents passed away about 40 years ago].
Me: "That's so nice that you want to take your parents out to dinner".
Mom went on to describe how the restaurant has a communal table where she intends to bring a lot of people including her two husbands [both deceased, not in her life simultaneously], plus somebody named Jim.
Me: "So you are planning a whole dinner party?"
Mom: "Yeah, we have and expression around here -- it's called "go fuck yourself". We say it when we invite a lot of people and entertain them, and then they never invite me back to anything. Oh when will this be over? I just want it to end".
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