I Come by it Naturally

As I've long suspected I come by stubborn streak naturally thanks to Mom & Dad, et al.

Growing up I always assumed that Bump-Bump, which is what we called my paternal grandfather, was hard to live with and felt sorry for Granny Nora that she had to put up with him. I soon came to the realization after he died a number of years ago that my sympathies were misplaced.

I now return to my Mom & Dad. I'm 41 y.o. and I always felt sorry for my Mom that she had to live with my Dad. I knew that he was hard-headed, stubborn, prejudiced, and set in his ways. I never had that same opinion when it came to my Mom. Oh, I knew I didn't want to piss her off because she can hold a grudge for ages, but for the most part she was accommodating especially with respect to her children and grandchildren. As the last couple of days (or months and/or years depending on how you're looking at it) have unfolded I've come to find out that my Mom is nothing but a "stubborn old woman"! (and I say that with all the love in my heart for her -- and don't think I'm saying something I wouldn't say to her -- I said just that phrase last night when I spoke with her)

Let me take you back to the Christmas holidays that I was spending with them on Cedar Creek just last year. Mom and I were sitting on the front porch enjoying a smoke (and yes I realize this is a filthy habit that is contributing to her problem) and she almost freezes up with sharp pains in her shoulder/back area. I recognize these as symptoms of a potential heart attack and tell her she should get them checked out. She assures me it's nothing more than a muscle strain that she's suffered that visits her from time to time. When I mention her symptoms to Dad he tells me he's tired of "wasting his breath trying to get her to go to a doctor".

Evidently the last several weeks she's had more of the pains and is starting to feel worse and worse. Brenda insisted that she go to the family doctor there in Little Town on Monday morning even though Mom is insisting that the pains have gone away. The preliminary EKG indicates she's had a mild heart attack some time previously. The doc orders blood samples and a chest x-ray and tells her to come back on Wednesday, which I'm sure he'll give her the results of all the tests and send her on her way to a cardiologist.

When I talked to Mom Monday afternoon and informed her that she WOULD do whatever the doctor told her to do from here on out, she informed me that she'd listen to what he had to say and then do what she wanted to do. When I reminded her that I had told her those back pain symptoms she had in December were indications of a heart attack, she informed me that she'd been having them for a year and she knew exactly what they were but decided to do nothing about them.

That is my definition of a "stubborn old woman" ......... and I realize that I'm following in her footsteps in more ways than one. All I can say to Lindsay is .... I'm sorry, but it's hereditary!