The Millinery Department

That is where Mom wanted to go today at all the department stores at the mall. I told her that the Millinery Department no longer exists. She was dressed to the nines as usual...cloche hat, purse, heels, skirt and blouse and a leather and mink jacket. One woman actually came up to tell her how much she liked the jacket and put her hand on Mom's shoulder. I had to tell the woman that Mom is profoundly deaf and could not hear people. After the woman left, I tried to convey her compliment.

After lunch we went to Penneys, Macy's, Nordstrom and Sears. At each store we looked at something....new lotion at the Eve Arden counter. Mom couldn't make a decision. Hats in all stores...nothing was the right style or price. The one pair of pants she liked were not available in her size.

I was getting a little frustrated with Mom's indecisiveness so I finally said that we needed to leave to do her grocery shopping.

By the time I got her shopping done and drove back to the house, Mom was exhausted. She got into her pajamas while I made her a little snack to eat before bed. I can see that she is not going to able to do another big shopping day this year before Christmas.

And the door was closed

Mom got into another little snafu today. She went to the garage to drop off her garbage and found the door open to the street where the truck comes to pick up the garbage. What she didn't realize was that the door to the garage had closed and she could not figure out how to get back into the building. I guess I had forgotten to tell her that her outside building key worked in that lock.

She ended up trying to walk all the way around the building to the front door. It is quite a ways for her to walk by herself. Luckily, three Asian people came up and helped her along. Eventually, the manager of her building came to her rescue and got her back to her apartment and into her chair. She was exhausted from her little trip and sat there for about an hour before continuing on with her day.

Of course, she told this story with relish and managed to laugh it off. I am sure that she was terrified at the time. Picture this: a 90 year old woman with a cane clutching her purse trying to walk the equivalent of a long city block. It is a miracle that she did not fall and break a hip.