Late Thursday afternoon

We walked past a posted notice advertising a dog walker.

Mom: They make good money, you know.
A.: Maybe that'll be my income source once I'm a writer.
Mom: No good writer ever had to learn to write. It just flowed out of them.

I didn't say, "I can think of a large number of excellent writers who all got the degree I'm applying for, from the same place."

***
On the drive to the store and then home, mom started talking about what a badass she was when she was my age. She rode motorcycles, went sky- and SCUBA diving and skiing, etc. This turned into how she had to leave her first husband, who wasn't interested in doing much of anything. He's on his fourth wife now. All four were present for a recent birthday celebration of his. One gave a toast from "his wives."

***
Mom seems to have lost interest in the guy she wanted to set me up with. His mom invited us over for dinner but mom said "they live far away, and besides, we have too much food in the house." So that's that.