I called mom with two weeks left until the deadline to find the paperwork I needed to submit for a tax exemption. She told me that she would look for it and call me back. I waited until the next morning to ask her if she found the documents when I picked her up for an appointment.

ME: Did you happen to find that paperwork I asked you about last night?

MOM: Nope.

ME: Nope, you didn’t find it. Nope, you didn’t look for it. Which one?

MOM: Nope, they never sent me the documents. 

ME: Okay, I will find another way to get the information.

MOM: Good Luck with that.

After I dropped mom off at her appointment, I went back to her house to find the tax documents. As I sat behind the desk she formerly used to transcribe notes and type papers for college students, I looked around at all of the notes she had left herself, all of the pictures she had hung, and all of the reference materials she used throughout her working years. This woman sat behind her desk each day for work, to write a card out to an ailing friend or birthday or anniversary, to pay her bills, and to update the calendar that she relied on so heavily. She sat in this office until one or more of her eight grandchildren was dropped off for her to look after, or she had to shut down her computer to attend a school or sporting event.  The calendar over her desk was filled with events, lunches, birthdates, anniversaries, and graduations. She had mementos and creations from her grandchildren all over the room including a picture drawn on an empty toilet paper role right next to the stack of documents that I had asked her find for me.

My guess is that when she was looking for the documents for me, her brain decided it would be more fun to take a detour down memory lane. I can’t say that I blame her; she had a beautiful life…