The Best Day
WMMM #039 - This week I share a personal experience.
Jeff Keplar Newsletter October 24, 2023 4 min read
I Went to See Mom
I went to visit my mother last week.
She lives in a senior living facility in southwest Illinois, near St. Louis.
I flew into St. Louis on Monday evening, rented a car, and drove to my sister’s place.
She had Emo’s pizza ready for me and the Cowboy game on.
Her husband, Greg, joined us, and we ate and got caught up as we watched the game.
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
My sister’s place isn’t located “in the country,” but it’s not far from it.
It’s a lovely ranch-style place in a wooded area with a golf course nearby.
They are early risers, and we shared a cup of coffee and experienced the magic that is first light.
On this particular morning, we were greeted with patches of fog.
A skein of geese announced their presence as they landed in a field nearby.
It was a beautiful way to begin the day.
I arrived to pick her up at 7:15a
She met me at the entrance with her walker and introduced me to the staff member helping her.
The first thing she noticed was the car I was driving.
It didn’t matter that it was a rental, and I had no personal connection to it.
She always mentioned the car on my visits to see her.
The Midwest is not far from Motor City, and most folks are “car people,” including my mother.
I had carefully chosen a Buick Enclave SUV.
My mother loves Buicks, so we were off to a great start.
Today, we were taking a trip together.
We were headed to my hometown, Peoria, three hours north.
Mom had not been back in seven months.
She had lived in my childhood home in a house on Western Avenue in Peoria since 1960.
My father passed away in 2012, and she had preferred to stay in that house, her home for over 50 years.
But it had become increasingly difficult for her to manage, and my sister and brother moved her recently and sold the house and her car.
My Mom loves going for drives.
She was looking forward to this trip.
We made a plan for the day.
Once in Peoria:
Downtown
Dad’s old barbershop
Grandview Drive
Our old house
The neighborhood
The elementary and high schools I attended
Tanner’s Apple Orchard
Gondola sandwiches from Michael’s in Washington (for dinner at my sister’s that night.)
Thirty minutes out, we reached a valley that had kept the sun from burning the fog away.
It was dense. It was glorious.
We came upon some highway construction.
Combined with the fog, I missed a turn to remain on IH 255, even though I had the car’s navigation system mapping our trip.
We didn’t notice (for almost 15 minutes).
Mom’s talking, and I’m listening.
I ask questions, and Mom talks more.
I listen.
Throughout the day, I learned things I never knew or had misunderstood as a boy.
The highway we are on comes to an end. Uh oh.
I had missed a turn.
No problem.
Apple Maps via Car Play will reroute us.
Mom was a little uneasy at first. She doesn’t trust mapping software.
We talked some more.
We took in the beautiful countryside: corn fields, farms, and the town of Gillespie, where one of my parents’ good friends was born.
Mom had never been.
Forty-five minutes later, we are back on IH255 at Litchfield, IL.
The rest of the day went like clockwork.
We saw everything on our list.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
It was a beautiful fall day in the Midwest, just as I remembered them.
It was the best day.
About Mom
She was born in Chicago during The Great Depression.
It was a struggle to survive for many during this period.
They were so poor they did not own a home and could not afford to rent a flat.
They only had enough money to go week-to-week in a room in a hotel.
The hotel was located at 757 North Clark Street.
This location may seem innocent at first glance.
Not far from there, at a Clark Street garage, is the site of the most notorious gangland slaying in history, the St Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Mom’s neighborhood was primarily first-generation immigrants, ethnic Polish and Italian.
We were the beneficiaries of the wonderful food Mom learned to cook due to that neighborhood.
Despite the odds against it, Mom was the first of her family to graduate from high school.
She became a librarian for the Peoria Public Schools.
Much of what I learned from Mom that day was personal and inappropriate for sharing here.
There is one thing I took away that I can share.
Regarding aging parents, act on any impulse to spend time with them.
They will appreciate the time with you, and you will never regret it.
Thank you for reading,
Jeff
If you like what you read, please share this with a friend.
I possess the skills identified in this article and share them as part of my service.
I offer my help to sales leaders and their teams.
In my weekly newsletter, Win More, Make More, I provide tips, techniques, best practices, and real-life stories to help you improve your craft.
