BINGO was his name-o

I must say that keeping mom busy and amused is fun.  I refuse to let her lay in bed  and die and I don't think that vegetated in front of a TV all day is that stimulating either.  On this day it was BINGO, and for money too.  It's a buck a card and you win 2 bucks a round and the jackpot for the last game which of course is a blackout.
It's a popular activity and the workers needed help porting all those that wanted to participate so I helped. In doing so, who do I run into to but Annie Kazimer and Fran Eklof.  I chatted with Fran for a bit and then carried on my way with a couple of the residents from the lock down ward.  Yes, the facility has a lock down ward because the residents there are all very capable of walking and if given the opportunity they will bolt.  The lock down has it's own kitchen and dining area, all the doors are alarmed and it's very open so the residents have plenty of room to wander around.  The sad thing is that more and more of their minds will disappear and they will eventually be moved to mom's wing, the end stage.
The Bingo was full and my mom isn't the only one who needs help with her cards so I sat at a table with mom and two other ladies that I could help, Clara and Margaret.  Clara is in continuing care, suffers from the early stages of dementia and would get her numbers mixed up.  Margaret is in supportive living but is going deaf and although she was playing 7 cards, she needed help hearing the called numbers.  And mom, well mom can't use her hands any more and I wasn't sure if she even knew what was going on.
The game began and encouraged mom to look for the numbers.  For the first game she was quiet but I watched her eyes and she was watching the cards.  I shouted the numbers to Margaret and when Clara would cover 42, I would gently correct her and say "No, Clara 52, that's five two and she'd find it and cover it.  I had trouble getting into my rhythm and keeping up with all the cards.  In the second game, I was still trying to find my groove and while I was going over Clara's cards mom pointed to I 25 and said "I 25" because I had missed it.  I was so pleased, she can still read numbers at least and understand how Bingo works.  But the best came in the third game, we got a line and as soon I covered the last number she yelled out "Bingo".  We won 4 bucks and we'll be playing every week now.
The cards took me back to happier times in Canmore when Friday nights meant Bingo at the legion and the kids would all play in the basement.  All I needed was some Blue Whales, Strawberries and Robbie Bushulak, Mike Kolenda and Danny Leblanc there teasing me and Karen Saunders.  Mom would always give me 10 bucks to play and eat candy with.  The deal was that if I won I had to pay her back the 10 bucks and I could keep the rest.  In all those years I won once.  I walked away with 25 bucks and when I got home I gave mom her 10 back.  She told me to keep it and I danced away happy.  On this day when I gave mom the 4 bucks and she said "For you, keep it".  And I danced away happy.