bogeyandruby

I have decided to do a month of daily blog entries, each a minimum of 150 words. The reasoning for the word limit is twofold: 1. To not place too much pressure on my low-libido creativity. 2. To lower expectations of the reader.

Visiting my mother at her senior’s residence this past weekend, I quizzed her on her trustworthiness with respect to the chocolate adventure calendar I ordered her from Purdys, a British Colombia confectionary success story akin to Laura Secords. That calendar is sold out, possibly due to it being Day 1 of the countdown, but they do have a Braille version that is still available. I wonder if they are counting on patrons with low vision not being able to read the past due date on the little boxes?

Getting back to my mother’s interrogation, I reminded her that I had bought her an advent calendar last year and that she had completely disrespected the order of things. Not only did she consume the chocolates in her calendar in a willy-nilly manner, opening random windows instead of following the dates, but she also managed to eat all the chocolates in the space of five days versus twenty-five. By the time she was done, the calendar was a mere vestige of its former glory, a massacre of cardboard and containers ripped from their assigned slots.

Initially, she promised to obey the unwritten advent calendar rules. This after I reminded her that she used to collectively punish us kids for stealing chocolates without permission from the Christmas tree. (Seriously folks, what reasonable parent dangles chocolates in front of children then tells them they can’t have any? It was a cruel form of torture.) Then she asked me how she would know what day of the month it was.

That was a reality check for me. My mother has cognitive impairment and Parkinson’s, a double whammy. She is no longer oriented to time. At least that is what I tell myself when she refers to me as her mother. It can’t possibly be that she thinks I am old enough to be her mother, right?

I texted my sister for advice. She reminded me that my mother was on a diabetic diet during a recent hospitalization for a UTI. The diagnosis has been an elusive one over the years. Is she or isn’t she? She definitely has a sweet tooth and she has clearly has lost her sense of proportion. I would have to make the decision for her. No chocolate advent calendar this year, probably ever.

What I find interesting, is my tendency to please people through food. This desire to feed people and make them happy even though I don’t cook and have myself cut out sugar from my lifestyle because of a strong history of diabetes in the family. I do bake though much less than I used to. And I do enjoy very dark chocolate which satisfies the sweet tooth without all the sugar.

I am very much my father’s daughter. He was the ultimate food pusher, and a pushover himself when it came to refusing seconds. Being East Indian and Sikh, it was natural for him to want to share his table. We were reminded regularly of the starving kids in Africa (starving kids in India didn’t have the same impact in our house).

The advent calendar will go to my son, a model of control and reason. A kid whose Halloween candy would last him well past Christmas. If I didn’t know better, I would suspect we did not share the same DNA, certainly not the same sweet tooth.

As for my mother, she is quite happy with a friendly visit that doesn’t involve treats. Her residence serves dessert after lunch and supper, with tea and cookie breaks twice a day, enough to satisfy her sweet tooth.

I think my first entry is way past 150 words. So much for self control. LOL