Ok I guess I'll start with the first friend I ever met in my life, that would be my mother Tess. The photo attached is of the two of us in the water on the island of Boracay in the Philippines in January 2004. My mother is 84 years old- yes that means I am a menopause baby- she was 41 years old when I was born. She thought she was going through menopause so she went to see the doctor who said- "menopause? no, you are pregnant!".
My mother can be as annoying as any mother should be. But she is still my friend, and even forgives the fact that I am the only daughter she has that has gone through a divorce and then remarried outside of the Catholic Church- in fact not in a church at all... She is extremely active in all sorts of things, Senior Citizen volunteering, church gatherings, and has friends all over the place that she has met since she immigrated here to the US in 1955. I can only hope to be as energetic when I am 84. She still drives, although only to her little corners of the world- Church, the Sr. Citizen Center, and the grocery store.
She has a couple of local neighbors with whom she "hangs" with and together they are like the Golden Girls.
Being 84 now, she is slowly seeing her old friends pass on and sometimes is attending 3 or 4 funerals a month. It's sort of a bummer for her, but it also makes her realize how much vitality she still has in her even at her age.
I live with my mother 3 nights a week. Since I have to commute to my hometown from Marin each week, its a good excuse to see her and not feel guilty when I don't come home for Thanksgiving, Easter, etc... This also allows her to feel a little more secure, and not have to have a "roomate" 24/7.
We laugh ALOT together, over the dumbest things- I guess that is what keeps us both so young. Not to mention the fact that she makes me watch Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and Dr. Phil with her each night that I am there. Oh well, its better than having to visit her in some smelly nursing home somewhere...
My mother Tess. Probably my most annoying friend. :-)
