Funny and Not - Again

On Monday Mom had a doctor's appointment at 10:00. Although I had called the evening before and she remembered her appointment, she was asleep when I went to pick her up.  Her first words were,"I don't have a doctor's appointment." It didn't bode well for the rest of the day.  Still, she got up and got going, and we got to the appointment in plenty of time. As we were leaving her apartment, she told me she wanted her key to the backdoor of the building. Without thinking, I replied that I did not have that key. She insisted that I did have it - that I had always had it - that she had not had it since she quit driving. And so the argument started.

It is funny how her mind works or doesn't work sometimes. When she loses something (which is all the time these days), I always tell her to keep looking in her house. She will insist that she has already looked, and I insist that she look again. Recently, but at different times,  she has lost her insurance cards, her driver's license, and now her whole purse. She loses her hearing aids about once a week.  Eventually, she will find things or not. Sometimes she says someone stole whatever she can't find. Usually, she calls me and says, "Lou! Do you have my driver's license?" or whatever.
"No, Mom, why would I have it?"
"Because you don't want me to drive."
"Mom, you don't have a car. I'm not too worried about you driving."
"You have it! You took it!"
"Well, I don't have it. You need it for identification. I did not take it. Did you look really well in you other purses?" And sometimes, she finds things after looking again, and I always encourage her to keep looking, which irritates her. And sometimes things are just gone.

So on Monday when she insisted that I had the key to the backdoor of the elderly living place and I insisted that I did not have it, she told me, "Well you need to look again. When you get home, you need to look through your stuff..." See how her mind works - she can't remember that I have never had her keys and that just a few weeks ago, I showed her how to use the key for the backdoor. But she can remember that I always say to look again, and she used that on me! To keep her happy, I told her I would look again.

While sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office, she brought up the key again saying, "You took my key when I quit driving and I want it back!" We actually had lots of discussion with me trying to show her that I don't have the key and would not have it. Eventually I said, "Mom, I have never had a key to the backdoor. Why don't you believe me? Would you believe Pete?"
"Yes!"
"Okay." and I began texting Pete, Kathy, and Jesse concerning the key." Then Mom in her very sassy way said, "A steak dinner?!"
I was surprised at her her making a bet, but I answered, "Yeah, a steak dinner."
Immediately, I got replies from everyone. I showed her Pete's reply, "Mom has always had the key." She read it. Then she said, "What does he know?!"
"Mom, you said you would believe Pete if I asked him!"
"No I didn't."
So, I guess I'm not getting that steak dinner. She told me that I had better keep looking for the key at my house.

In other news: I'm having a paint party on Friday night. Ladies are coming over to paint simple Christmas/winter paintings.  I have painted a few for reference and will probably paint a few more today. It should be a fun time.