Can't Wait to Get to Heaven

Norma Gives Up

11:14 AM

The day after Elner refused to go to Happy Acres, Norma made a phone call to their family physician. Maybe Tot had the right idea, she took tranquilizers.

“Dr. Halling,” she said, “I wonder if you could give me something for stress?”

“Stress?”

“Yes. A few months ago I broke out with rosacea, and the dermatologist said it was caused by stress.”

“I see. Well, why don’t you come in and let me take a look at you?”

“No, I really can’t do that right now. My nerves are just too bad. If there is something seriously wrong with me, I really don’t want to know.”

Dr. Halling said, “All right, but come in and let’s at least talk about it.”

Dr. Halling knew Norma well, and he knew he would never get her to come in if he threatened her with any tests. She was the biggest hypochondriac he had ever encountered in all his years of practice.

The next day Norma sat in Dr. Halling’s office as far away from him as possible. Even though he had promised no tests, she was still nervous.

He looked at her over his glasses. “So, other than rosacea and your hair falling out, any other symptoms?”

“No.”

“Are you still walking thirty minutes a day?”

“Yes, well, I try. I used to go to the mall and walk twice a week with Irene Goodnight and Reverend Susie, my minister, but I haven’t gone in a while.”

“I see. Well, you need to do that. What is your average day like?”

“Oh, nothing much. I get up and clean the house, do the laundry, visit a few friends.”

“Any outside activities?”

“Besides church and Weight Watchers? No, not really.”

“Hobbies?”

“No, not really. Other than cooking, taking care of the house, and trying to look after Aunt Elner, of course.”

“Well, I’m going to give you a prescription for something to help you sleep, but I think your main problem is that you have too much time on your hands, too much free time to worry. Have you ever thought about going to work?”

“Work?”

“Yes, have you ever worked?”

“No, not outside the home. There was one day I worked as a hostess at the pancake house, but I hated that so I quit.”

“I see. Well, I think you should consider getting a job. Maybe a part-time job?”

“A job? At my age? What kind of job?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Something you might enjoy. What do you like to do?”

As Norma walked out to the parking lot, she kept thinking, “What do I like to do? What do I like to do?” At one time she had considered opening her own Merle Norman cosmetics store. But that was only because she had been afraid they would change the original cold cream formula. When she got to her car in the parking lot, she looked and read the bumper sticker she had on her back fender: I BRAKE FOR OPEN HOUSES. And it came to her. Real estate! That’s what she liked to do. Every weekend she and Irene Goodnight went to all the open houses. And she never missed House Hunters on the Home & Garden television channel. Her friend Beverly Cortwright had even said she should go into real estate with her.

For the first time since Linda had come home from China with her little girl, Norma was excited.

She drove across town and pulled up in front of Beverly’s office and went in.

Beverly walked out of the back with an armload of flyers.

“Hey, Norma, how are you?”

“Fine. Listen, were you serious about me going into real estate?”

“Well, sure, why?”

“Because I’ve been thinking about it.”

“Oh, well, sit down and let’s talk about it.”