mom visit starts today

My mom comes in today for her annual visit, staying until Friday morning.

I would have ordered last week's weather - cool, dry and autumnal - rather than this week's heat and oppressive humidity, but no one had the courtesy to ask. I hope the heat won't be prohibitive, as we have a much better time if we are out doing things.

This year the plan is Mississauga and St. Jacobs. There are a few cultural and historical things to do in Mississauga - which proves that there's culture everywhere - and I thought we might drive around and do them all in one day, plus maybe a park or a lakeshore stroll. St. Jacobs is not for the outlet stores or the cutesy factor, but for quilts and glassware. My mom loves handwork of all kinds, especially glass, and St. Jacobs has a quilt museum and several glass studios. (Last year we went to the Textile Museum of Canada; we both loved it.) We'll probably hang out in St. Jacobs, or perhaps in nearby Elora, for dinner and miss the traffic on the 401.

Tonight I'm making a special dinner, which is very easy to do for my mother. She's the world's least critical guest. Perhaps my mom developed her attitude of absolutely loving everything! to balance out my other parent's chronic complaining and criticizing. But he's long gone, and we're left with my mom's happy, open spirit and her constant enjoyment of life. I'm very lucky that way.