Dude, Where’s My Car?

If you’re a terrible person, but you know it and you acknowledge it, does that somehow mitigate the terrible-ness? Asking for a friend.

M asked me to find the original “Star Trek” series for him on TV before I left for work this morning – and I did – so he was all set for his day. But it also got me out the door PDQ . . . I don’t think I’ve ever moved quite so quickly to get my day started. I know – who cares? But sitting there, watching that is NOT how I want to spend my time!!

Wednesday night bowling was not as successful for M as the previous weeks have been. I don’t know what was going on with him, but he didn’t seem to understand which two lanes he was supposed to be alternating between and kept wanting to move down to lanes that were in use by other teams. Even when I said, “It’s your turn on the lane directly in front of you,” he would go off to the left or the right – never straight ahead. His teammates were all very helpful and understanding, but I could tell I was about to lose patience with him.

One of his teammates was talking to me during the evening and told me that his mother was caring for his aunt, who had dementia. Then he asked if I had enough support.

Wow! I was amazed that someone I see once a week would think to ask something like that.

And, of course, the answer is no – in a situation like this, there’s no such thing as “enough.” You just do the best you can.

The most surprising conversation I had with M this week occurred Wednesday night as we were getting ready for bed. I had just finished brushing my teeth and walked out of the bathroom when he said to me, “When am I going to get a new car?”

Um . . . never?

Of course, I can’t say that, so I had to act as though there’s a plan for him to get a car – just not any time soon.

I reminded him that since my car has nearly 300,000 miles on it and I drive 60 miles a day, round trip, I’m the one who is going to get a car first. But we’re not going to do anything until we see what happens when the business I work for is purchased by our new owners in the first quarter, next year.

THEN, later on . . . down the road, we’ll talk about a car for him.

Fortunately, he remembered that all those facts were important, and agreed that we would have to wait. But he pointed out that he might need to go somewhere – although he couldn’t tell me where – and it would be a good idea for him to have a car, just in case.

Oh well.