By Vicki Brown
It’s always amusing to sit back and watch families interact and that is just what I recently did. I was privileged to watch a great comedy involving a family. But this just wasn’t any family, these people were my parents.
I have told you before that they are in their mid eighties and have been married for 65 years. So you really get to know a spouse after you have been together for that long. They know each other through and through, but still carp and argue about inane things.
I visited my parents at the time when dad was being taken off some medications and being put on some others. My mother sat down to “help” him.
They each have what looks like a large and small tackle box; inside are all their medications. Mom’s are in the larger container, and dad’s are in the smaller. Then they have pill boxes scattered everywhere with daytime and nighttime meds.
My sister, who was on the phone with them, was reading out what meds dad needed, and he began to search through bottles, ready to put them in his weekly pill containers. But mom kept interrupting saying that he needed to take one of the pills right then because he had to have food with it. That was mainly because the TV was at its loudest volume because neither parent was wearing his and her hearing aids.
“Robby, take your heart pill.”
“What did you say?” he asked my sister.
“TAKE YOUR HEART PILL!” mom shouted.
“I’m talking to your daughter, not you,” said dad.
“Well, take it anyway,” said mom, rolling her eyes at him.
”No,” he said, “I want to put my pills in the little compartments first!”
“But this is your heart pill and you need to take it right now,” said mom.
“What?” he asked.
“I said YOU NEED TO TAKE IT RIGHT NOW!” she shouted.
“I will take it in a minute, after I get all this together,” he said.
“No, you can’t just take the pill, you need to eat food with it,” she said. And as she said that, she reached over and stuffed a cookie in his open mouth which was primed to argue with her some more.
Rolling his eyes and choking down the cookie, he kept right on dividing out his weekly pills. My poor sister gave up trying to give him the list and talk loud enough to overcome the TV and deafness.
Just then, a pill dropped on then floor. Oh, boy.
“Rob, which one was it that fell?” mom asked.
“I don’t know,” said dad.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“I said I DON’T KNOW!” he shouted.
“Oh, I know which one…it’s the one we drop all the time that looks like a football!” she said.
Obviously dad knew exactly which one she was talking about. Quickly grabbing the flashlight, they both searched the kitchen floor, finally locating the tiny ‘football’.
Next, my sister said he needed to add folic acid to his pill collection.
“Well, which one is that?” he asked.
“You know, it’s the one I take,” my mom said.
“No, I don’t know which one….you take so many!” he said.
“Well, here, take one of these and add to each compartment,” mom insisted.
“Okay, okay. Just give them to me and I will put them in. Now, stop interrupting me so that I can figure out which others I need to take,” he said. “Wait a minute. Do I take this twice a day or once a day?”
“Which one are you talking about? The ‘football’ or the folic acid?” she asked.
“I don’t know? Is folic acid for my heart?”
“No, that’s the ‘football’” she said.
I had to leave the room. It was just too funny.
Finally the hour long pill fiasco was over and they both retired to their respective recliners. Dad began a conversation with mom as he watched TV. As I looked up I saw mom was sleeping, not hearing a thing he was saying. Eventually, she woke up and began a conversation with dad who was dozing in his recliner. He hadn’t heard a word.
They have their own routine and a deep, devoted love for each other. It’s special and just too cute.
Suddenly Mom came into the kitchen. “Oh, my gosh, I forgot to take my stomach pill.”
I burst out laughing. I thought we were done with the pills.
