I
got there at around 1 p.m. My sister and her boyfriend, my brother and his
wife were already there. My brother was inspecting the portions of the apartment
that we've painted, in our "Trading Spaces" style quest to transform
Dad's place. Much to my surprise, he didn't make too many comments about
the quality of our work. His answer was, "It's Dad's apartment and
he's happy with it."
My brother
had worked up a sweat prying open one of the windows that had been painted
shut years ago. It took a lot effort, but he finally managed to wiggle
and scrape it free.
Dad has
done a lot of painting since I was there last. He had finished the yellow
which was going on the inner portion of the windows and in the hallway.
It was a different yellow than we had decided on, the colors having been
taken from a room we all liked in Trading Spaces. I'm not sure
how it will go with the red we've chosen for the trim, but again, it's
Dad's apartment.
Once Dad
returned from his morning rounds at the hospital, we all walked to the
convenience store to buy some sodas and maybe a little lunch. I didn't
expect to find anything there that I could eat, but they now have chef
salads that are pretty good.
We went
back to Dad's place to eat our lunches and talk about what we would do
the rest of the day. I had suggested going swimming at a state park, because
I'd bought a bathing suit at the end of last summer and hadn't yet had
a chance to use it. But this idea was ruled out when we realized the closest
park to us has legendarily cold water, only worth daring on an oppressively
hot day. Plus, we had to be back in time to meet Mom for dinner at Perkins.
She was working this weekend, having arranged it a month ago, having not
anticipated these unusual circumstances.
We considered
taking the dogs to the closest park and letting them run around, but my
sister reminded us there were skunks there. None of us wanted to spend
the rest of the day giving dogs tomato baths.
Sitting
there in Dad's partly painted dining room and thinking of the items we
needed to get yet to complete the transformation, we decided the best
way to spend the afternoon was a trip to Lowe's. This got us more excited
than it probably should have.
At Lowe's
we spent a happy hour or so wandering around and looking at things. My
brother and his wife showed us which kind of sink they're considering
for the bathroom they're going to redo. One person or another kept grabbing
me by the hand to show me what they were going to use for a home improvement
down the line. Even my sister who, like me, lives in an apartment, has
plans to refinish a scratched table by covering it with hand-fired tiles.
I bought
a dolphin pull chain for my fan, to match the one that already is attached
to the fan blade mechanism. Now I can more easily turn off the light portion
of it. I told the cashier I didn't need a bag, and just slipped it into
my pocket. For the rest of the day, I went up to people and said, "I've
got a dolphin in my pocket. Want to see?"
We made
it to Perkins on time, but Mom was held up at work for an hour, so we
chatted and bought some stickers from a vending machine outside. I got
a band of monkeys.
Finally,
we ordered anyway, resolving to hang around with Mom so she could eat,
too. Our food arrived just as she did. When she saw we were all eating
really healthy meals, she got one, too. I think the heart attack scared
all of us into behaving.
Dad has
been making everybody get their cholesterol checked. I insisted I don't
want to get mine checked, because then I don't have to worry. I'll just
die somebody and be surprised about it.
We frightened
the other patrons in the restaurant by having an argument over whether
puppy breath smells good or not. We were talking and laughing loudly about
it when my sister noticed no one else was talking. When we left, she said
they were probably saying, "Thank God those weirdoes are gone."
After dinner,
we went back to Mom's place, where she was making strawberry jam from
some strawberries she'd ordered awhile ago and which arrived that day.
She freezes the jam and uses it on her waffles during the winter.
My brother,
bored, wandered around the house inspecting it to see what had changed.
He found a Razor Scooter that Mom had received for a Christmas present
a couple years back. After posing for a picture with it and taking turns
trying it out, I don't believe she'd touched it since. He asked Mom if
she minded giving it up, and she said she was just happy to get more stuff
out of the house.
Anxious
to try it out right away, my brother and I went outside with it. He started
zipping up and down the street, going up and down the neighbor's driveway,
crouching down and doing tricks. I remembered I had a pogo stick in the
garage, so I retrieved it. It was red and bent and rusted, much like my
truck, Red Arrow. But surprisingly, it still worked.
We had a
contest. My brother jumped on it 58 times in a row, and I kept trying
until I beat him. I only made it to 60. I could have done more, but I
was wearing Tevas, which are terrible footwear for pogo sticking. No arch
support.
Meanwhile,
a couple came down the street, pulling two small children in a wagon.
My brother explained to them, "We're just reliving our childhood."
Dad joined
us, and we pointed out to him that the neighbor's mulberry tree was full
of berries, so we all walked over and ate some. Andy's wife joined us,
too, in eating mulberries, pogo sticking and riding the scooter. We were
having, as my brother termed it, "a quarter life crisis." I
pointed out that would mean we'd live to 120, but none of us felt quite
old enough for a mid-life crisis.
When Mom
was done with the strawberries, we all drove back to his place so she
could see the paint job. She was making suggestions about other things
he can do in his apartment, such as get rid of all the furniture. When
his cats were young, they used to claw the backs of the chairs. They've
since outgrown those kittenhood indiscretions, so it's safe to get new
furniture. Or maybe they're just waiting for new things to sink their
claws into. The old furniture is clawed out.
Overall,
it reminded me of the way our summers used to go, those lazy, silly summers.
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