Mom

Yesterday, Igor was going to take mom to the Devon market, but it was too short of notice, and she said she could not go at that time. So I thought that in that case, I could take her to ALDI (and show her the way so that she could do it herself in the future). Knowing her daily schedule, I called her at 3 PM to tell her that I will stop by in an hour. She didn’t pick up, but in a could of seconds, she called me back. To my surprise and horror, she said: I am not sure I will be at home in an hour, I am not sure where I am. When I asked her to read the name of the street at the intersection, she replied: California.

Those who know a little bit about Chicago geography can understand my feelings. I asked what’s the other street name, and she said: Toughy. She could not tell me which direction she is going. She asked a couple of people where is Morse CTA station, and she said they were should her different directions. I hypothesize that people were just showing directions to the nearest CTA because she was so far away.
I had to wait till she reached the next intersection (aI opened Google maps and followed her) to confirm that she was going in the opposite direction.

First, I wanted to get Uber and pick her up, but I was afraid she wouldn’t stay in one place for 30 min, so I started to direct her over the phone. I was also afraid that the phone would get discharged, so I didn’t keep her on the phone the whole time. After one of my calls, she told me that she already turned on Morse Ave and she knows where she is going. I got dressed and prepared to leave the house. I called her one more time, and she said she is not sure why she is on RIdge, not on Morse. I asked her again to read the nearest intersection sign and told her to stay where she was (again, for those familiar with the surroundings, she was at the corner of N. Ridge Ave and Chase). When I finally found her, she was out on the streets for more than three hours and asked why I am calling Uber when we can walk home.

Yes, I already set up location sharing on her phone, and I made sure that the internet is on all the time, and Anna and I talked about other precautions.