Caught Mom Flirting

With a traveling salesman

I had an infusion Monday. It went on for hours and left me wiped and exhausted. Mom has been caring for me since then to a large degree.

So when the door bell rang while we played cards today, she went to get the door even though normally I get it since she is no longer very mobile.

It was a traveling salesperson who wanted us to paint our house.

I listened to Mom talk to him for a few minutes. If it had been me going to the door, it would never have opened.

But my Mom wants to talk to people. As she’s gotten older and less agile, it’s become harder for her to get around and so social connections are more valued as they are more rare.

When she first moved in with us it was 12 years ago and she was much more mobile.

I still remember taking her to the local bank to open her account.

A nice young man introduced himself.

“Hello dear,” she began. “Look, Shefali, what a handsome young man!”

He blushed. I was mortified.

“Where is your family from, dear?” she asked. Then she mentioned she wanted to open an account, and in the process of pulling out her ID, she also showed him photos of my father on their wedding day.