Conversations with Mother (1)

Mother: What’s 1914 from 2010?

Me: 96 (getting good at this)

Can’t be.

Yes it is. You are 96.

I’m sure I’m 94.

We do this every day. That’s why my mental arithmetic is absolutely tiptop at the moment.

Sometimes I think she’s just fishing for compliments. Then she says something else and I know it’s all terribly real.