Mom had three exclusive partial dentures made because the first two affected her very sensitive gag reflex. Well, Mom picked up her third set and was trying her best to wear without incident. None of us knew that she was having issues with her third set until we went out dinner while vacationing in Virginia.
We were dining on the deck at a seaside restaurant with the usual family chatter around the table when suddenly Mom’s shoulders jutted forward with her hand over her mouth. Instinctively, I was up and ready to give her the Heimlich, but as I approached, she softly told me it was her new dentures. Oh Lord, was my first thought this is not good.
So not to make Mom feel self-conscious I said an she chocked on an ice cube. Apparently, my cover story wasn’t good enough because my 15 year nephew caught on. A few minutes later Kevin imitated a subtle gag which did not go unnoticed by Mom and was all it took for Mom’s reflex to kick-in . Kevin would let her recover gracefully, then fake another gag which resulted in a comeback gag from Mom.
It was nonstop momentum Once Kevin knew he sucked Mom in it was on! Dual of the gags for 20 minutes or so until we were roaring. In order to control our laughter, one by one we started to walk away from the table until the only people left were Mom and her grandson, Kevin.
We didn’t intentionally leave her with Kevin, we had to leave the table before we were on the floor. As it was we only moved a table or so back and we were still laughing hilariously because we could see and hear the shenanigans. Finally, the ‘gag’ (pun intended) was on Kevin because he went into uncontrollable gagging fit along with Mommy.
Finally, he relented. Mom took it all in fun and thanked God we were the only people eating outside that night. While some may think it was cruel, we still get a good laugh or two remembering. I guess you could say we put the FUN in dysfunctional.
Mom is now 81 and a better sport than me.
Lin Cassidy
