The Indestructible Ocotogenarian

                                                                             

         
                                                                                               

A few months ago, I took my mom  for a pedicure. Though she suffers from hammer toe, bunions, ingrown toenails, corns and calluses, this was nothing compared to what we went through that afternoon.

When we arrived at the beauty shop, I noticed the spa tub was already filled with water. This meant that my mom had to take off her shoes and socks on another chair before we could catapult her into the the spa pedicure chair. After I helped Mom remove her socks, and roll up her pant legs it was time to hoist her up into the next chair. Suddenly, she froze.

I had one hand on my mom's arm, while she was holding on to the walker. She couldn't seem to get her feet to cooperate, and she became wedged in between the walker and the pedicure chair. The manicurist tried to help me scoot her over to the seat, but she became a dead weight. My grandma who weighed one hundred pounds soaking wet, also had the ability to turn her body into lead whenever anyone even thought about lifting her.

Finally, the manicurist called the owner's son over. His job was to lift the walker over our heads, so my mom wouldn't be pinned in. As we both held on to Mom with all of our strength, he managed to get the walker out of the way. Unfortunately, my mom's purse went sliding off into the next tub submerged in water.

He quickly fished out her purse, and the first thing I pulled out was her cell phone. Miraculously, it was still working, but it went dead shortly after I finished drying everything off. In the meantime, my mom remained very calm, and waited patiently for her lunch. When I went to tell him that the phone wasn't working, he was nowhere to be found.

Next, I asked someone to put her empty purse in the dryer for a few minutes. While my mom was having her hair coiffed, her purse mysteriously disappeared from the dryer. I ran frantically all around the beauty shop, until someone finally found it.

After I dropped my mom off at home, I stopped off at a neighborhood cell phone store, to see if there was any possibility of reviving her phone. The only option was to buy a new phone, and even the most basic one would've cost over two hundred dollars, as our plan wouldn't entitle her to an upgrade until the fall.

My hubby even ordered a used phone, but when he called to activate it they told him that the phone would only work with a pre-paid plan. None of this made any sense, as my mom was already covered under our plan. She just needed a basic phone for emergency and long distance calls.

After going back and forth with other cell phone companies, it finally hit me. I remembered that my brother-in-law was the one who recommended our phone carrier, as he thought it had the best out of state reception when our older son was in law school. My husband immediately called his sister-in-law, and she saved the day with an old flip phone that was in perfect condition.

My mom was happy to receive her replacement phone a week later.  She didn't even complain at the beauty shop for the mishap, but was happy when I did. The staff was very apologetic, and quite generous with one of their most loyal, and cherished weekly customers. They even threw in some scented body lotion for her driver.

My mom still goes in every week, even when her arms are writhing in pain from pushing her walker. Heads turn, as women young and old say, "I don't know how she does it. That woman has such a wonderful attitude. She never complains. Despite everything, she's still a breathtaking woman with a beautiful head of hair. Her poor daughter must take after her father."