Cheers!
My mother hates taking her pills, partially because she doesn't like the taste, and partially because she knows she is the only one in our family having to take them. She almost completely refuses to drink water during the day, and we are worried that she is dehydrated. Someone puts a full glass of water in front of her in the morning, and she pushes it around the table all day waiting for it to evaporate.
***
My mother and I take a day trip before Christmas. We arrange to meet one of my old friends at a coffee shop, and my mother and I arrive a little early. I order anyway and get something chocolate with whipped cream for my mother. As we sit with our drinks, looking out the window at cars and trucks throwing up snow and slush along Main Street, I try to savor this quaint moment. Steam rolls off the top of my mug filled with coffee still too hot to even sip. I turn to my mother, ready to ask if she likes her drink, but find her mid-gulp. In fact, she is leaning back in her chair and her cup is tilted all the way back. Slamming her empty cup on the table, she exhales a quiet "ahh" and ignores the white line of whipped cream under her nose.
"Did you like it?" I ask, sliding a napkin across the table.
She hands it back and replies, "Uh-huh, pretty good."
***
When the summer heats up, I pour pop into two retro Coke glasses and hand her one filled with ice cubes.
She sips the bubbles then closes her eyes and sighs, "Ahh."
"Pretty good?" I ask, swirling the ice cubes in my own glass.
"Yeah, okay," she replies. Taking another sip, she then closes her eyes and repeats, "Ahh."
Every drink she takes is accompanied by an "ahh." Even the last drops in the glass (almost thirty minutes later) get this commentary.
***
In order to convince my mother to drink more water, my family starts adding flavoring to her glass. This tactic works for a few days, but my mother soon falls back into the same routine of neglecting her water.
On one particularly hot day, my mother and I watch the ice cubes melt in yet another glass of water she refuses to drink. I fill a glass for myself and set it on the table. As soon as I take a seat next to her, my mother clinks her glass with mine, holds it up in the air, and takes a few gulps.
I reply by holding up my own glass and asking, "Cheers?"
"Uh-huh," she answers as I tap my glass against hers. For the rest of the day, any time she drinks from her glass, she first clinks it with mine.
***
My mother and I take a day trip before Christmas. We arrange to meet one of my old friends at a coffee shop, and my mother and I arrive a little early. I order anyway and get something chocolate with whipped cream for my mother. As we sit with our drinks, looking out the window at cars and trucks throwing up snow and slush along Main Street, I try to savor this quaint moment. Steam rolls off the top of my mug filled with coffee still too hot to even sip. I turn to my mother, ready to ask if she likes her drink, but find her mid-gulp. In fact, she is leaning back in her chair and her cup is tilted all the way back. Slamming her empty cup on the table, she exhales a quiet "ahh" and ignores the white line of whipped cream under her nose.
"Did you like it?" I ask, sliding a napkin across the table.
She hands it back and replies, "Uh-huh, pretty good."
***
When the summer heats up, I pour pop into two retro Coke glasses and hand her one filled with ice cubes.
She sips the bubbles then closes her eyes and sighs, "Ahh."
"Pretty good?" I ask, swirling the ice cubes in my own glass.
"Yeah, okay," she replies. Taking another sip, she then closes her eyes and repeats, "Ahh."
Every drink she takes is accompanied by an "ahh." Even the last drops in the glass (almost thirty minutes later) get this commentary.
***
In order to convince my mother to drink more water, my family starts adding flavoring to her glass. This tactic works for a few days, but my mother soon falls back into the same routine of neglecting her water.
On one particularly hot day, my mother and I watch the ice cubes melt in yet another glass of water she refuses to drink. I fill a glass for myself and set it on the table. As soon as I take a seat next to her, my mother clinks her glass with mine, holds it up in the air, and takes a few gulps.
I reply by holding up my own glass and asking, "Cheers?"
"Uh-huh," she answers as I tap my glass against hers. For the rest of the day, any time she drinks from her glass, she first clinks it with mine.
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