I posted the following scenario to Facebook on November 16, 2016, and decided it so typified the humor my parents shared with others that I am compelled to capture it in my blog about our family’s heritage.
When caring for the elderly (our Matriarch and Patriarch who were 88 and 89 at the time), I always tried to seize and treasure those fun times and funny moments. Here’s just one of them:
We’re in the exam room for Mom and dad’s quarterly visit on Thursday with their primary care doctor, Dr. John C. Patterson. Dr. Patterson is talking with Dad and me about Dad’s muscle spasm he’s been having in his back. Often, these discussions led to back stories and Dr. Patterson had been talking for quite some time.
Mom became impatient and wanted to share her thoughts, too. Raising her hand, and reminding me of Horshack from the 1970s TV sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, she boldly says with the utmost importance tone “I have a statement to make!” We all chuckled, and Dr. Patterson says to her, “Yes?” And mom responds: “Your hair and my daughter’s match each other’s– they’re exactly the same color (white)!
We all laugh again, and Dr. Patterson says “Well, I can assure you that mine is natural.” Then he says – “But yours may be colorized!” Mom strokes her hair and says, “Oooh No, this has always been my color,” (red)! And then dad says, “And, we refreshed it for just $84 last week!” And again, we all laughed!
Here is also a comic from GoDaddy that could just as easily been an exchange between my two parents on any given day:
Mom passed in 2018 and dad in 2020. Sure do miss our times spent together, but grateful for them and their caring, too.
Our Unbounded Heritage: 12th Century & Beyond 