land ‘o Goshen!

That’s where we took my mom on Sunday: to the “black dirt” region outside of Goshen, New York for a Summer Fest at the Polish Legion of American Veterans’ picnic area. It was a 35 mile drive over back and bumpy roads, and (we now know) too long and jarring for her to sit comfortably. She fell asleep each way, and I tried to prop her up with pillows so that she wouldn’t fall over.
Packing her up to take her on even that short a trip was like packing up to take a child: snacks, water, an extra pair of underpants, a jacket, hat, pillows, blanket….
Add to that, of course, her wheelchair and her cane.
There was a polka band playing all afternoon, so after she ate some pierogi that I bought at the stand operated by Hudson Valley Polonaise Society, she and I got up to polka. We managed to do two dances (with a long break between), and my brother took a video clip to help her remember the event afterwards.
Here’s a still photo of us, baby-stepping along as everyone else hopped energetically around the dance floor. (I clipped the image from the video, so it’s kind of blurry).
dance4a.jpg
To be honest, it was killing me not to get up and really dance. I kept looking around to see if there might be any men there without partners who looked as though they wanted to dance as much as I did. No such luck. Five years ago, I would have even gone up to a guy who was with a partner and asked his partner if I could borrow him for one dance — explaining that I was from out of town and was dying to get at least one dance in before I left.
Obviously, I’ve lost many of my edges. No more guts. No more glory.
Mom barely remembers the experience. And she slept almost all day on Monday. I’m not sure it was worth the bother of the trip, except I did buy some tomatoes (the best I’ve had yet), a perfect watermelon, and, of course, onions at what was once the Onion Capital of the World.

1 thought on “land ‘o Goshen!

  1. Hope your Mom enjoyed the event and the dance at the moment, even if the specific memory is not there. Hard to know, sometimes, just how much we do is truly appreciated.

    Gotta get your edge back! Yeah, I know easier said than done.

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