A bunch of things are on the griddle. Too little time to write about them now. But since today was my last open Friday night for a while (the county fair next Friday, and high school football starts the week after that), I decided to take my wife out for a fish fry. We enjoy that, and the cook never complains about getting a night off.
(She didn't complain about not having to cook lunch today, either. By pure dumb luck, I stumbled upon a credit union office celebrating its birthday by holding a free cook-out for anyone who wanted to come.
Anyway, when I thought about the fish fry tonight, I immediately had a second thought: Why not take my mom along? It's been quite a while since she has had a fish fry not created in a nursing home kitchen. And tonight, frankly, was our only chance to see her this weekend.
But it was a busy day for me. Collecting results from the primary election earlier this week. A court hearing in the afternoon. Then back in the office, trying to write up those stories--and also phoning two football coaches about the first week of practice. I got the interview with one of them and then did some some writing. When I looked up, it was about 4:15 p.m. and everybody else had fled for the weekend.
I phoned my mom and warned her that we'd be later than normal, and, sure enough, we got to the NH at about 5:30, picked her and her walker up and drove off to a favorite restaurant that serves pretty good fish fries.
That isn't just my opinion. The place was packed by the time we got there, with a 30-minute wait time. We found my mom a chair to sit in, but it was crowded, people were hustling and bustling here and there, it was noisy, and I guess it was too much for my mom, for she started crying.
That's what happens nowadays when she's feeling tired and nervous. But she still wanted the fish fry and asked to stay. We had to wait for the longest time until finally a table was ready. Once it was, we fetched her some pasta salad from the salad bar, ordered some fried mushrooms and the fish fries for all of us.
As soon as she got to a table and had some of the pasta salad, things seemed to go better with her. Her mood brightened a lot, and she ate pretty well--some of the fried mushrooms, pasta salad, a slice of tomato, some french fries and most of the fish they served her. (Fortunately, I was around to help with the rest.) She enjoyed the good food they served.
Then she started getting tired, and we took her back to her room. My wife gave her a new batch of plant food for her flower, which is really thriving--a number of new buds. She asked me for a few things she wants/needs--some candies.
Things like jelly beans and Skittles are easy to find. Square anise candies, like she remembers from years ago, are not. They're a favorite of hers, just like those tiny eucalyptus menthol cough drops she loves to pop in her cheek when the air is dry. They fight off congestion in her sinuses--and she had been down to her last two before I provided a big bag.
You just can't find square anise candies in the stores anymore. At least not where I live, where the stores just get the name brand stuff from the big distributors. But I'm not worried. I'll get her anise candies the same way I got the eucalyptus menthol cough drops. The internet makes the hunt go very quickly.
We had some shopping of our own to do, too, so we didn't get back home until 10 p.m. So, as I said, I'm tired. And tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Time to head for bed.
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