"Grown" Daughters

Hi, Desperate Readers,

Nancy tells me that I can't call my readers unfaithful if I am an unfaithful blogger....she wants something to appear when she clicks "Tiztalk". Well, I do, too. How about a comment or two or three?? I could make an outrageous claim like insisting that I am not a witch or a crook , and then you would all get on and come to my defense, right? Right....I've been thinking a lot about mothers and daughters lately. Mom is turning 100 next month, and I just visited her last weekend. While you might think that a 99 year old lady doesn't yield much power, think again. When I am with my mother, I must adhere to the strictest standards of behavior. I must account for all the Pinwheel cookies that go missing during my visit. "Tizzie, have you been into the Pinwheels?" Mom eats one - and only one - Pinwheel each night and my visits inevitably throw off her inventory. I must go to bed somewhere around 8:30 PM. I can and often do rebel and attempt to stay up later, but when Mom gets up for a bathroom break I am forced to explain why I'm dozing, whether I really need the light on, what I'm watching on TV, and why I don't just immediately go to bed. And so I do. Lunch must be eaten promptly at 11:00. Even if I am in the middle of writing out invitations to HER birthday party, I must put them aside and eat a proper meal. The same thing happens at 5:00 PM. In between meals, we take our required tour of the cemeteries. Mom once again ponders why a certain person is buried in a certain spot. I once again offer to dig up that certain body and move it to where she wants it. My sister and I agree we should have done this about 50 years ago. Last weekend Mom and I did get to have some extra fun. We picked up two of her friends who are 91 and 94 and we went to the new Castle Finn Winery near Marshall, IL. It was a picture perfect fall day and we sat outside and toasted ourselves. We also ended up in the middle of a wedding, but no one one seemed to notice. We behaved ourselves and only one of our party -- not me -- snitched a handful of peanuts intended for the guests. When you're in your 90s, who's going to stop you??...Okay, you're wondering about the photos. Well, my niece Coady sent me the link to her wedding photos . E-mail me if you want the link. It started me thinking about where my own wedding pictures are, so I photographed one of them for you. Yes, that's it, ignominiously perched on a heap of stuff in the basement. In 1976, I had envisioned it gracing the grand hall of my stately home or over the fireplace in my formal living room. Alas, I have none of the above, but I do have a roomy back basement that welcomes such things. So, I hope Coady reads this before she orders her wedding photos....Today is a big day in the University Bookstore. The new MU Student Center -- we are connected to it -- is having an open house today and a dedication ceremony tomorrow. Mort Walker of Beetle Bailey fame will be there. We've been told to "dress professionally" in Mizzou's colors, black and gold. So, I will pull out my trusty black pants that served me so well in Eire and make myself respectable once again...

Minding my mother,

I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

P.S. Faithful and unfaithful readers know that I have no idea how to delete the extra photo above. I have tried, but the computer has outsmarted me once again.