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Monday, 24 August 2009

Dangling the Bait

By Dani Ferguson of The Musings of a Middle Aged Woman

This is a story told by my father over the years much to my mother's protests. Their accounts of the story varied but it was her final version that will remain with me forever.

My father's version of the story went like this: When my parents were young and a few years before they were married, they went down to the old swimming hole to swim. According to my father the water was CRYSTAL CLEAR!

My dad said he climbed some rocks and was about to dive into the water when he saw my mother, further out in the pond, waving her bathing suit over her head. Unfortunately for him she managed to get it back on before he could dive in and swim out to her.

Now, every time he told that story when I was a kid, my mother would blush and say he was exaggerating. According to my mother, the water was very muddy, and my father was on a cliff about a football field away. I did notice, though, that through the years the cliff somehow got higher and the water dirtier as the story was retold.

Seventeen years after my father’s death and my mother, who was now ninety-one years old, told this story to her nurses aides the night before she was to be discharged on hospice. This time however, she didn't mention the hazy water or how far away my father was. When one of the aides asked her if that was how she got her man. My mother's response was nothing less than a surprise.

She sheepishly answered, "I didn't get him by taking off my suit. I got him by getting it back on before he could get to me.”

“Well, wasn't that a little risky on your part?" The aide responded.

"No, I already knew how fast he could swim," answered mom with a grin.

[EDITORIAL NOTE: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. They can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc. Instructions for submitting are here.]

Posted by Ronni Bennett at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post

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