Posts tagged we’re getting the hang of this entertaining idea

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S and I have had a fairly interesting weekend. What’s made it so interesting? The people we’ve seen and conversations we’ve had. The fun started on Friday night when we had S’s biological mom over for dinner.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but S was adopted. In her late twenties, she met her biological mother who we’ll call Pearl. Growing up, S had a lot of questions about her biological relations and Pearl has helped answer some (or most) of those.

Pearl is a very unique woman. She’s had an interesting (and often times hard) life and this is evidenced by how she’s aged. She’s very gaunt looking, wrinkled and very, very thin. She’s also a bit of an eclectic individual; she’s a hypochondriac and is always complaining of one ailment, disease or affliction.

For various reasons, S and Pearl aren’t particularly close. They see each other three, maybe four times a year. Pearl had a birthday recently and S invited her over for dinner. S insists that I attend so that I can be a buffer between them. “Besides, Pearl really likes you,” S said to me.

Pearl was due to arrive at six on Friday night as she likes to have dinner early. I was home just before six and S arrived minutes later. Just after six, Pearl was knocking on our front door. When S opened the door, she was taken aback by how tired and gaunt Pearl looked.

Pearl was her usual self; she talked of her health (she’s got a heart condition of late), her ex-boyfriend and family events that have happened recently. Even though I was the buffer, I spent a lot of time away from the gals as I was outside grilling dinner. Still, S seemed to do okay.

Following dinner, all three of us sat in the main visiting area on the main floor and continued to chat. I couldn’t help but notice how strange Pearl’s mouth area was. It looked like she didn’t have any teeth. Her cheeks were drawn in and every time she moved her mouth it looked like she was trying to keep her teeth in place. (She does not wear dentures.)

Pearl left shortly after eight and S immediately began to worry about whether she’d look like Pearl when she reaches that age. She stood in front of our tall mirror and began pulling the skin on her face back. “Dear Time, please be kind,” she said, slightly panicked.

“Oh stop,” I said. “You know Pearl’s had a very different life than you.”

“Still…” S said. She then proceeded to ask for help from her father, in addition to Time. “Dear Daddy, help a girl out, will you?”

We had a good chuckle over S’s worries about aging poorly. I don’t think S has anything to worry about. She’s got great skin, she takes care of herself and she has a very youthful appearance. People are always surprised when she tells them how old she is. I know that each visit with Pearl leads to some anxieties for S about what she’ll look like when she reaches the age Pearl is.

The interesting people aspect of the weekend continued the next day.

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