Fun at Krogers

I have figured out that Ruth is an adventure whether you are with her everyday or see her every couple of weeks....always an adventure....

Today's fun adventure was a trip to Kroger...her all time favorite store. I am sure that she will be welcomed to Heaven through the sliding door of a Kroger store. If they had any idea what a loyal customer she has been , they should give her a free years supply of groceries. She really thinks they all know who she is and are just waiting for her to come in. She trips up to every employee, tilts her head ,grins from ear to ear while touching their name tag(which is usually located right over their boobie...I cringe each time) and then makes some goofy comment ,using their first name and continues to stand and grin until they make some gesture. It doesn't take much, just a little comment from them and she trips off completely sure that she has made their day...thank you to all the Kroger employees who make Ruth's life so complete. I am sad to say that I think they do a much better job than we do sometimes...of course, like I tell CC all the time, she is not their mother...


When I arrived at Corinthians to pick Ruth up today, sharply at the 1 P M time that she had verified 3 times this morning, she was staring out the front window. I went inside and Carla told her that I was there. She looked over and said they were looking at the front of my car and she just didn't know if she could get in it.."Why does it look like that? What is wrong with it? The front just goes down...'' I try to explain that it is made that way to be more aerodynamically correct(what the heck is wrong with me)...she just looks at me like I am some kind of nut and says she just doesn't think she can ride in it...I drive a silly Nissan Quest Van, not some kind of sports car...She is genuinely frightened so I ask her if she wants to ride in the back. She says she doesn't think she can. I ask her if she would like for me to go get what she needs and bring it back. She ducks her head a bit and says she needs to go with me, just tell her where to sit and she will do it. I softly croon silly conversation for the 5 minutes(10 hours) it takes to get to Kroger. I hate that it scares her so much.


She makes a bee line for the cigarette counter to be sure she gets the right cigs. She has changed her cigs. I ask her if she is buying them for herself or for someone else . She says she buys them for whoever needs them. I ask her if they are helping her pay for them. She flares up a bit and wants to know why I know about any of this. I tell her I am married to her son so I know everything. She mellows and tells me I am the luckiest person in the world to be married to him. I smile and say I know I am. She stops and looks at me and says,"You really do know that, don't you?" I say yes...She interrupts the girls who is checking out someone else by handing her her cigarette pack to be sure she gets the right one. The girl asks her to wait a minute...Ruth looks befuddled...The girls now addresses her and starts to get her cigs. Ruth goes into a long explanation about wanting the carton of cigs now and she will pay her when she gets all her groceries(thats my translation as her rambling words confused the girl)...the cashier looks perplexed...I cautiously step forword and tell Ruth that she cannot have the cigs until she pays for them...I brace for impact as Ruth gets pretty feisty with me when I intervene ...She looks sharply at me and asks how I know that...I lightly point out the lock on the cabinet and say something foolish like they keep them locked up to keep her from stealing them...oh hahaha...She asks the cashier if that is true and after she gets the same hahaha answer from the cashier we trip off into the bliss of Kroger..


Ruth is very nervous today. She keeps saying she is so shaky and so anxious. She says over and over that she couldn't do this without me. She would show me an item on her list and I would say it was on a certain aisle and that we were going to that aisle. She would say for me to lead the way. We would get to said aisle and she would ask me why we were there. I would tell her that this aisle is where the item she wants is. She would ask me how I know what she wants. I would say it was on her list. She would ask how I know that. I would say that she had just showed it to me. We did that with EVERY item. If I gave her a choice with an item(i.e. ham) she would put her hands over her ears and say she could not figure that out...I just needed to choose...We counted down every item like a NASA launch...she was so anxious to be done...

It was beer time...C C and I have taken a blood oath( O K , that is a lie but we did commit to it) to not buy her any more beer...I AM THE GOOD COP....I AM AFRAID TO TELL HER NO...BBUUUTTT...I muster up all my courage and say, " CC said she wants you to buy the same beer she bought for you before( that's right, I am a chicken, I laid it all on CC)....Ruth looked a little perplexed and then said O K....we got the non alcohol beer(maybe I should try that myself, I sure miss a good cold beer)...I won..I won....she was none the wiser...we are done with our little trip to Kroger..


On the way out she asks me where I am taking her. I tell her back to her apartment, did she have anywhere else she wanted to go...she says no ,she just wondered...I ask her where she was thinking she might go...she says she was thinking of going to her Mom and Dads home, in Larchmont...I tell her that would be a long drive...she again puts her hands over her ears and says not to say that, she can't hear about a long drive...I take her hand and tell her I was just kidding, we are not even thinking about driving to Larchmont today...she seems relieved and just wants to get in the van(the drive to see her Mom and Dad would be way further than Larchmont, I think...)


At one point in the store Ruth looks up at me and says that since she knows I am going to talk to Cindy, I can tell her that she and Jack(not her ex) are no longer an item. She says he was just driving her crazy and that she is done with him...good deal and good riddance you bum....
We get the groceries put away...she wants to go out and smoke a cig...I tell her to just smoke one inside( I am so hot) but she says she can't...she is not smoking inside...it is so brutally hot outside and pretty messy...the mess makes her crazy... I am going to take this up with Corinthians...if they want these little peeps to not smoke in their rooms, they should provide them a decent place to smoke...I mean it...


Ruth is pleasant and very thankful for all I do...we need to do better for her soooo get ready kiddos, you are about to get involved....

good night Ms Ruth