The Adventures of the Traveling Pants

Monday started out like a regular day, but by the time the day ended, the two sisters of the traveling pants were exhausted. And Tuesday's activities didn't afford us much rest either. To blog was an impossibility due to the pace of the past two days. Brenda took me to radiation late Monday morning. We decided to call Mom & Dad and found out they were on their way down to the RV park for a two day visit. B & I decided to go to Scotland to the Creperie, but alas it was closed on Mondays. On we sailed to Nurse Cherry's "Laundromat/Iced Coffee Parlor." To Vito's restaurant for a Mediterranean salad, after Brenda found the 'right' parking lot to park in (this was a great source of amusement to me… Like I said, I don't want to give her too many directions just to see where she'll end up). Back to Cherry's for iced coffee and a sit in the sun. Then back to the park to see if Mom and Dad had arrived safely.

Well, it only took them three hours to make a 1 ½ hour trip. Not bad. Their GPS woman decided to direct them to take the back roads, and they obeyed her, and hit every construction site. Mom said it was quite the adventure. They arrived close to 3 o'clock, and set up their trailer with a few difficulties. By 4, they still hadn't eaten. They were weary and tired, and perhaps a bit disoriented (well, at least Dad was).

We decided to have supper in our RV, and Brenda set up the feast. It was 5 o'clock, and we were ready to eat—Mom and Dad had not eaten since breakfast. Mom came over to the RV and said Dad would join us. But after a considerable time of waiting, Brenda decided to go looking for him, then Mom, then me, and we were suddenly the Search and Rescue team, going out in all directions searching for Father. I went down towards Lily Lake, and happened to ask at the park entrance if they had seen an older man go by. Well, yes, they did – he was asking for directions to a restaurant, and they pointed to the pavilion on Lily Lake which happens to have a small café/restaurant. I made my Birkenstocks go a bit faster, and was thankful that I had rested a bit before making the trek up the dusty, under construction road to find my father. "Lord, you know where he is – show him to me," and then, I saw him – far away, going into a building. Brenda, who was in another area, thought to phone him and ask him where he was. He told her he was in the basement of a restaurant. She hadn't a clue what he was talking about. I knew I couldn't go back and tell them I had found him, or I would lose him again, and just prayed that Mom would remain calm, wherever she was. Brenda got into the car and made her way out past the gate of the park. By that time, I saw him come out of the building; he was probably wondering which way to go. I waved – he saw me, and he made his way towards me. I tried not to make too big a deal out of it, but he and Mom had some interesting 'discussions' all evening about him wandering off and why would he think we were going to a restaurant? He thinks we are in St. Martins, and he still doesn't know why we are here. We've been paranoid about him ever since, and watch his every move. Today we are laughing about it, and realize we now have to make adjustments to this new reality, just as we've had to make adjustments to the new reality in my life.

After a late supper, we thought we would relax for the evening, but oh, no – Mom realized that she had left all, and I repeat, ALL their medications in Fredericton. By this time, she was ready to pack up and go home (I had already given her my pep talk about making the best of a new reality with Dad's memory and disorientation). No, we'll adjust to this, too! So, we all piled into Brenda's 'old grey mare,' and traveled through hill and dale at dusk to find a pharmacy that just might be open and could come to our aid. We found one, and after half an hour of us all sitting in the store like the Beverly-Hillbillies-come-into-the-city-just-to-be-together, the store came through and solved the medication dilemma. Every single one of their prescriptions was filled in its entirety (all the files were transferred), and $99.00 later, Granny (Mom) walked out with enough drugs to fill a black cloth recycle bag. I didn't want her walking through the trailer park with all those open drugs, for fear she might be accosted, but she shrugged me off and made her way back to her trailer and settled down for a cold night's sleep, filled with tractor trailers, trains and machine noises. I think by this time they were glad they came to see us, and were planning their next trip. It was turning out to be the Series of Unfortunate Events Day #2.

Tuesday, Brenda and I went to radiation at 9 o'clock and came back for breakfast. Dad was adamant he wanted to go fishing, and we were adamant that he not go alone. We thought he could fish at Lily Lake and we could walk around it, and still be able to see him. He was adamant that he bring his new Ford Ranger along for the ride (even though he could have walked), and he and Mom wandered the lake shore while Brenda and I walked around it. No fish were hooked, however, because he forgot to bring earthworms, and I couldn't see where I could buy earthworms, other than on Kijiji, and I just didn't have the energy for that. About that time, I was wracking my brain for all those signs you see everywhere on convenience stores and gas stations: GET YOUR EARTHWORMS HERE! ICE CREAM, $2. SCOOP! You know the signs.

We took a trip up through the park to another lake and all of us bailed out of this tiny truck, like the Hillbillies we are, and Dad set to casting his line again. Brenda and I decided to sit on the edge of a bridge. I thought I was safe, but alas, Dad decided to fish below us under the bridge. It was like a scene from A River Runs Through It. I prayed for him to catch a fish so we could go home, as we were getting tired and the sun was hot, and I was beginning to forget what my name was. Mom came and stood behind us. We were enjoying the beauty of the water and the sound of the rod, when SUDDENLY, Dad appeared from nowhere and threw a fish through the air up to where we were. It FLOPPED and FLAILED on the ground beside us, blood spurting everywhere. "Catch it, catch it!" We were screaming like banshee roosters. Brenda was flailing around and finally grasped the scaly squirmer as it bit her (do fish have teeth?), and Mom stepped on its tail to keep it from plopping back into the water. I was trying not to jump sideways and fall off the bridge, as the fish seriously invaded my personal space. Dad kept on fishing. Brenda walked to the truck to get the fishing basket and then delicately manoeuvred the trout/chub/mackerel/pickerel/whatever inside. Finally, we piled back into the truck, and Dad began to drive the wrong way on a one way road. "Wrong way, wrong way!" we yelled. Poor man – he never stood a chance he always told us. Too many women in his life telling him what to do.

We made it back to the utilitarian trailer park safe and sound. Nurse Cherry came for lunch and the afternoon. Then a surprise – Doug arrived in his cappuccino coloured car from Canada – "to see his sweetie," he said. I was so excited. We spent the afternoon and evening together. We had a birthday celebration barbeque to honor Mom's 70^th birthday next week, complete with special cake.

You know, no matter where I go, I meet people and seem to get involved in their life and they in ours. Sunday, we met Roger and Mary next door in the Airstream trailer, who are looking out for Dad to make sure he doesn't go where he shouldn't. Today before supper, we met the nurse who took care of Dad when he had open heart surgery five years ago (she's going to take over Mom & Dad's trailer site for a couple of days); and another RVmate – a couple from New Mexico who had been working in an orphanage in Africa and are making their way to Ontario, where she is originally from (Brenda didn't want me to talk with her because she's afraid I might go to Africa to work in an orphanage; it's been a fear of hers for about five years, she says).

This post is way too long, so I'll sign off. Doug just called – he's home again. Brenda and I are eating cheesies and chips, like sisters do. I'm having a hot flash and Brenda is doing a Sudoku. Two women – alone on the range – well, not so alone.

We remain,

D & B, The Traveling Pant Sisters on the Range

PS: Angie and Kim – thank you for the flowers! They are beautiful, and it was so kind of you to drop by! Sorry we weren't here – probably having the fish incident right about the time you came….