On a Roll……in more ways than one

Well it was an eventful day……….any day with my 87 year old mom seems to be that way!

My family is originally from Georgetown, and when my mom retired she moved from Georgetown to be closer to me.  Twice a year she ventures back to Georgetown, about a two hour drive, to get her car serviced. She has a garage mechanic that she has always taken her car to and she really trusts him and refuses to find someone closer to home.

In Georgetown, happens to be Quiltsource Canada, where I order my batting from. It seemed like a good idea at the time to travel with her, and pick up my batting while we were there. Her small car would hold about three large rolls. Usually I have it shipped, but I thought that I would save some time and money by picking it up since we would be there anyway.

It has been quite a while since I have travelled with my mom…with her in the drivers seat that is…usually I’m driving her everywhere. Yes she is 87 and she is still driving. She has gone for her written driving examine every 2 years since she turned 80 and always aces it with flying colors.

Now I say flying…literally.

That’s what we did on the drive!

We were on the QEW and I glanced over and the speedometer read 130 kilometers……yep 130. Within 10 minutes I had cramps in my legs from bracing them for impact.

I did say…”Mom you’re going 130…it’s only 100 here, you need to slow it down or you’ll get a ticket.”

She replies…..(I am not kidding)…” they don’t bother you till 150…that’s what the sign says.”

“What sign?”

“The big one that says 150 kilometers and over, you know the one”

“No Mom,that isn’t what it says….it says that if you go 150 or over they will take your car and you’ll lose your license…not that you can do up to that!”

“Well you have to go with the flow of traffic.”

By the time we got to Georgetown I was white and pastie, and had the worst headache…I’m sure it was because my blood pressure was through the roof.  Plus she tailgates!  and breaks at the last minute!

I was really trying to be respectful, she is my mom and she is elderly and the driving and licensing at age 80 and over is a delicate issue with seniors…but after that ride I would mandate that every senior be road tested. To hell with this business of having them write a  test. Most people would complain about seniors going so slow, but not in my mom’s case…she would place in the top 5 at the Indi 500! 

We dropped the car off, walked into town and had a nice lunch and perused the local shops. A couple of times I tried to get her to let me drive home, saying, “ you must be tired mom, I’ll drive home if you like”….nope she didn’t bite.

We picked up the car and batting and headed home.  The drive home did not fair much better than the drive up.  All the way home I kept praying I would see my grandsons again.  Deep breathing exercise did not help either.

As we passed a transport truck on a curve doing 130 yet again, I did say “ Mom, come on slow down, you are really going way to fast and making me uncomfortable.” She replies…”just let me get past this guy”     *_)!*_*))&$_!(&_!$*&_!$&_*(!^$

She did slow it down a bit after that but kept complaining that if she didn’t go faster, she would fall asleep! She says that if she goes faster, she has to concentrate.

)*!__$)$_%(^!#(%(&$@%(!^@)!

Honest to god, when we pulled in the driveway at home I thought she’d take off her little hat and say “ thank you for flying with us today!”

As I crept into the house, shaking and fumbling for my valium, I vowed that I would never get in the car with her again if she was driving.… ever.

Over tea later, I again instilled the speed issues and that for her sake with regards to keeping her licence she should SLOW IT DOWN. She did say she would…..