Several surprises added up to a good day

By DIANA DOLECKI
Special to The Commercial Review
It has been a good week.
It started off with a call to the insurance people. I had what I thought was a simple question. Of course, the guy on the other end of the phone had to get all sorts of information first. He answered my question then uttered those fateful words that would ruin my day, “I need to update your information.” A few minutes later he told me his computer had frozen and I would need to call back in a couple of hours. They just needed to push one more button and it would only take a few seconds.
He lied.
I called back that afternoon and got somebody else. After an hour and a half or so, she told me that her supervisor said she couldn’t do whatever she was trying to do and that someone would call me. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why the first guy couldn’t have written himself a note to push that one button whenever his computer came back on. Then again, I don’t understand why government computers are programmed to fail on a regular basis. It’s another of life’s inexplicable mysteries.
The next day I had to take my mother to the doctor for a follow up visit. It was a beautiful day and I almost enjoyed driving. I was early so I pulled a couple of her thistles and visited a bit before we headed out. Since we left early, traffic was light and almost every traffic light was green.
I drove past the entrance and turned down a side road. Mom kept telling me to turn around. I kept going and found a park that I didn’t know was there. We watched the resident geese for awhile before heading back to the doctor’s office.
We parked and admired the landscape. A row of bushes lined the top of the hill. Lilies were pushing through the mulch. Slender daffodil leaves waved in the slight breeze. A yellow bush bloomed cheerily. On the other side of the shrub was another garden, complete with bird feeders. Evergreens nestled against the ramp that led up to the blue house that housed the dermatologist. It was a very calming and beautiful path. It always amazes me how plants can affect mood.
Once inside, we were told that the doctor was running late. Aren’t they always? He checked her over and refroze two spots on her arm. He told us to come back in two months and if one of the spots hadn’t healed by then, he would do a biopsy. I took that as good news. It is when doctors get in a hurry that I worry.
Mom said she wanted to go to the craft store. To my surprise, she didn’t want me to get a wheelchair. She said she could walk. We found what she was looking for and she walked back to the car.
We stopped for lunch and again, she walked. I ordered something I had never had before and it was delicious. Mom said her soup was too salty. So I gave her some of my lunch and she liked it as much as I did. They didn’t charge us for the soup, which was an unexpected treat.
Finally we stopped at the big box store for some groceries. This time she asked for the wheelchair. We filled her basket with almost everything on her list and headed for home. I was surprised that she wasn’t complaining about being tired. I promised to come back on Mother’s Day.
Saturday afternoon, I spent way too much at the plant store. Now my herbs are tucked into their summer homes. The coleus have been planted in hopes they will look as good as the ones I planted several years ago. Geraniums are lined up and waiting to be put into the ground. Any day that I have dirt under my fingernails is a good one.
I have been trying to figure out why this week has seemed so wonderful. Was it the unexpected park? Was it that my mom walked more that I had seen her do in a long time? Was it playing in the dirt in anticipation of things to come? Was it the beautiful weather and abundant sunshine? I know it wasn’t dealing with insurance people.
Whatever, the reason, I am enjoying it. I hope your week is a good one, too.