Groundhogs and Gynecologists

"The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears." ~Bill Vaughn

I've never understood the concept of Groundhog Day. Today Wiarton Willy saw his shadow which resulted in a prediction of six more weeks of winter. This is Canada and it's February 2. Even if Willy didn't see his shadow, we will have at least six more weeks of winter. I don't get it. Predicting we are going to have six more weeks of winter is like predicting the month after March will be April. A strange ritual indeed.

Happy Birthday to my two friends, Nancy and Fran who both celebrate Groundhog Day birthdays. I don't know if either of them saw their shadows when they emerged on the days of their birth.

Today my sister Nancy and I accompanied my mom to her quarterly gynecology appointment. It is getting harder each time we have to take her. It's extremely difficult to maneuver her into the car to make the drive downtown and we are no longer able to walk her from the car to the clinic building so we have to call for a porter to bring a wheelchair to the car. There is no place to legally park near the building on University Avenue so I pulled into a spot normally reserved for the hot dog vendor, put my flashers on and waited with one eye ahead of me and one eye in the rear view mirror watching for a parking cop. After fifteen minutes of waiting, the hot dog vendor pulled up behind me and proceeded to have a meltdown because I was in his spot. I had no place to go so I ended up driving in circles through the incredibly busy streets and then having to double park on University Avenue when the porter finally showed up after 25 minutes. Drivers were honking and upset. Nancy took her in while I looked for a place to park and then we repeated the process in reverse - I once again double parked while trying to load her back into the car while drivers behind me honked and flipped me the bird. Mom was so exhausted from the ordeal that she was asleep in the car by the time I had driven a block. My nerves were frayed as were Nan's. We brought Mom back to the nursing home and left her to have a little lunch and a long nap while we went and got a bite. Her next appointment is on May 5 - Cinco de Mayo. While I decompressed after this appointment with Chinese dumplings and tea, you can be sure next time I'll be decompressing over a margarita.