Can't Win for Losing

No idea if it was a common saying or not, but growing up, "Can't win for losing." was one of my mom's favorite sayings.  And she had a lot of faves.  Hotter'n Ole Billy By Dern, Older than Mathuzalah, 6 a-one, Hot enough to bake eggs....stuff like that!

Anyway, at 5:48pm yesterday I knew exactly what "can't win for losing" meant.

Peyton and I had "Meet the Teacher" at her school last night.  And she was great about sharing with mom what would be happening - finding her room, getting her schedule, seeing which friends she had class with, seeing her teachers from last year, getting her locker - all that.  And mom seemed to be so pleased to listen to Peyton - totally showing interest and smiling. 

I talked to mom over and over about MTT and the PTA meeting and showed her the Box Tops we have been working on.  She smiled again, seemed to be pleased that we were including her. 

But like I said before, it was a jam-packed day.  I tried to sit down with mom for about an hour before it was time to leave.  I can sit with her and then run upstairs and do one thing or run into the kitchen or laundry room and do one thing and then come back and sit down again.  It allows me to get things done and for mom to not feel neglected.  I was able to get my makeup and hair done in little sections - I wonder if mom noticed my step-by-step transformation.  Every time I came downstairs I was just a tiny bit more presentable!

I even ordered pizza last night - a bargaining chip to get Murph more excited about staying home and being in charge of dinner.  A bargaining chip for mom too - she loves pizza!

All was well until it was time for me to take the girls to the school.  I logically know that mom can't remember, but I am still baffled when she acts like she doesn't know that we are leaving even though we have been talking about it all day.  That was when I realized "you can't win for losing".  She was seated at the table - pizza, freshly brewed cup of coffee and grapes in front of her, her very handsome grandson as her dinner date and when I said, "Mom, remember, I have to take Peyton and her friend to Meet the Teacher at her school?" she curled up a sneer and said "Well, I supposed they do that...whether it's dinner time or not...  But it doesn't seem very polite...not that it makes any difference I suppose....I'll just sit here..."...and that's all I heard.  We had to go and nothing I could say would make her happy that we were leaving. 

She apparently ate a good meal, was great with Keaton, complimented the coffee and told him how much she loved pizza.  She didn't dwell on us not being there - she never even asked where we were.  She sat with him in the family room for a bit and went in to sit in the living room when her ran out to tell the rest of his fundraising coupons.

That's where we found her when we got home.  Fine as wine.  Trying so hard to understand and be interested in Peyton's new teachers and her experience at the school.  We even made her a big ole dish of coffee ice cream to eat while P and I had our pizza - mom can't remember that she's already eaten.  Bad part of that is - the ice cream was much more interesting to mom than anything we had to say.  It's disappointing in a way, but it's reality and it doesn't do much good to get your feelings hurt.

Every day is different, every day is a lesson, and every day is a blessing.  Win or lose!