[jorian]

My Dad passed 8 years ago - feels like yesterday - still hard for me to talk about. Mom is still around and in good health. She'll be 81 this year and she still drives, shops, goes to the gym and occasionally looks after my sister's young boys. Always a pleasure talking to her. Don't get me wrong she still drives me nuts sometimes but at 81 she is not going to change.

I bought her a new car a few years back. When my Dad was around he always had her cruising around in some cripple that might break down at any moment. I decided she paid her dues and deserved a nice new rig. The salesman at the dealership was very patient with her. He spent about 2 hours with her going over all the buttons, lights, info messages, NAV/radio functions, etc. The next day she came back with a a few questions. Wanted clarity on a few buttons. Overnight, she had put a post-it note on each button in the car with the name/function on it. Many of the post-its had the same word on them that they covered. GAS button was covered with a post-it that said, you guessed it, GAS. The dashboard was a sea of yellow. The salesman tried to act normal, as if everybody did that. Still cracks me up when I see a couple notes still clinging to their perch. I asked her if she was happy with it and she replied that it was a lot to learn. Maybe she would be happier with her old Dodge Neon back. She quickly decided she was pretty happy.

I watch Jeopardy with her on occasion and she always cleans up! Pop culture and contemporary music are a mystery to her but she has a breadth of knowledge that never ceases to amaze. Retired English teacher/therapist. I think she has another 5 or 6 self reliant years ahead of her before she needs help. We talk everyday and try to have lunch once a week. Gotta keep Mom happy.