I started the day hemming my Mother’s new pants for her Drs. appointment. No, I didn’t sew them. I cheated and used hem tape. Even knowing what hem tape was made me feel positively domestic.

Do you use hem tape or is that too much of a short cut for you?

If you read yesterday’s “Day At the Vicarage Post”, you will remember that today Mom had a cardiologist appointment which she was pretty nervous about. This morning I helped her get dressed and then we took off for the Dr’s. office. It’s in our local hospital building over in Gardner MA.

Mom now uses a wheel chair to get around the hospital for appointments. She tried to walk the first time we had an appointment here and that didn’t go so well. So now I have a system:

I drive her to the front of the building and help her get seated on one of the front benches. We have to have the mask conversation every time as she gets out of the car….

Mom: Why do I need this.

Me: Because of Covid.

Mom: Oh! Is that still a thing?

Me: Yep.

Mom (puts on the mask.) Wow! The world has really changed!

Me: It sure has.

After this I park the car in clergy parking….because I’m clergy….to which Mom responds “You have your own parking space at the hospital? Impressive.”

I go to the little check in tent next and requisition a wheelchair which means I ask the super bored door monitors where the wheel chairs are. They point. I go and get one.

Once I get Mom comfortable seated in the chair we go through the check in procedure….the questions….the responses…..the washing of hands….the directions to the particular office….the reminder that we cannot wander around the hospital…the giving of our little tag which tells the hospital staff where we are supposed to be.

Today we got to the office just in time to fill out the forms needed and then we were off to the races. Weight, height, medicine list, EKG and then the big wait for the Dr.

“I hope he’s nice.” Mom said. “How’s my hair?”

Then the Dr. came in. It all went better than expected. The Dr. said her results showed normal calcification of the heart valves for someone her age and since she is not displaying adverse symptoms and is already on all the meds he would recommend he saw no reason Mom had to come back to him.

Here is our parting salvo with the Dr.

Dr. Gibson: Of course you know they pay me to tell people to quit smoking.

Mom has a pack a day habit.

Mom: And how much do they pay you to do that Dr.?

Dr. Gibson: Not enough!

Mom: That’s probably because you are not very good at it.

Well that about sums up the day.

I am looking forward to tomorrow Dear Friends.

Pastor J