A Little More Patience

I always forget how long things take with Mom in the picture.  We went to Trader Joes and it's not like when I go to Trader Joes.  She has to look at each and everything because she hasn't seen it before.  Besides that, the store in Framingham was unbelievably crowded, and she has very little sense of how much space she takes up with her walker, how slow she walks, etc.  I had to take a few deep breaths during our shopping excursion to remind myself that I suggested it, and that Mom doesn't have a chance to get out very often, so I should let her do what she wants.  However, after we had gone through almost all the aisles and the cart was full, I suggested that she skip the 2nd frozen section.  She didn't have any room in her freezer anyway.

I hope she had fun, but I'm sure she felt my impatience.  We were in the store for an hour and a half.  I did my best, but sometimes I need to remind myself that I could do better next time.  While I know I could be in & out in 15 minutes, time with her will always be slow.  I need to book at least 3 hours for each visit, even 4 to make it viable. I just need to remember that.

Here's a photo of my Mom and my Granpa from a few years ago.  

She's 71 and he's 100.

I'm off now to go see Valentines Day with my friend K.  I hope its fun.  After that I have to come home and finish studying for my GRE on Monday.  I'm not worried about the Verbal part, but the Mathematics is scaring me.  I don't have any skills and I haven't been studying as much as I should.  It's my own fault.  I hope I get enough to submit for my Graduate program.  Wish me luck!