'Tis the season to get together with family, and I am planning on
doing that. I'll be seeing mom in a few days, and so I've been
reminiscing.
One of the things I remember about mom was that, when I was in high
school, I worked late nights volunteering for the local theater, and
mom always wanted me to check in with her when I got home. She was
usually in bed by then, so I'd knock gently on the door, we'd discuss
the day, and I'd go to bed. In the morning, mom would often not
remember me coming in, and would say something like, "Oh, you're here!
I didn't hear you come in last night."
I'd reply, "Mom, we talked for about fifteen minutes."
She'd be surprised. Mom never seemed to have problems forgetting
anything else, but I never really thought more about it.
Until today. It has dawned on me that I tend to have conversations
with people that don't exist (the conversations, the people, or both).
It is possible, I now realize, that I wasn't speaking to mom at all.
Perhaps mom wasn't forgetting. Perhaps... I was speaking to someone
who wasn't even there.
On a lighter note, I have to say that the three amigos seem to be much
more friendly this time of year. Marcus and I have finished watching
all of the Twilight Zone episodes, and I've shown him a few Ellery
Queen episodes. He doesn't seem as interested in those. I think
Jeffrey would enjoy those more. But Marcus does enjoy reminding me,
rather constantly, that we are "going to the lake." And I'm still not
sure what he means by that.
