On outings with my mom, there never seems to be enough time in the day to stop for lunch. Before she started using her walker, she loved to go on long shopping trips seldom taking more than a quick break for a frozen yogurt or a drink. Now I could still get lost in her walker dust, but I have to think of sneakier ways to get her nourishment on the go.
No matter the time of day, I've gotten into the habit of packing sandwiches and cold drinks with us. This way when my mom acts like she's been stranded in the desert after only ten minutes, I just pull out a refreshing bottle of iced tea from my handy insulated lunch bag.
Sometimes I can't convince her to eat anything until after 3:00 when dinner is served promptly at 5:30. This forces us to have lunch on the lam in some of the strangest settings.
She's eaten in dressing rooms, shoe departments, and even doctor's offices. Once during an eye exam my mom ate half of her sandwich while waiting for her pupils to dilate without ever having left the examining chair. Fortunately, everything was neatly put away before the ophthalmologist returned. However, my mom does draw the line at eating at the dentist's office. Although she would sip her iced tea if she could.
