Before the recent hurricane followed by the snow event, my mother mentioned casually on the phone not to worry if I couldn't reach her all day on a Wednesday. Half-joking, I asked if she was sneaking off for a little fling with a certain white-haired gentleman from her Scripture Group named Leon who is a widower looking for a wife. Apparently, he is the only man in the group and he makes this announcement on a regular basis. And he always sits next to my mother. I tell her to go for it, especially if he can dance. "Oh, he can dance but...", then she waves her hand in dismissal of the idea. "I was single and I liked it. I was married and I liked that. I'm single again and I like it even more, although Leon does have a good head of hair."
Okay then, I'm thinking, among sixty other things. "So where will you be?"
She replied rather vaguely, "I'm just going with other members of The Blue Army for a day retreat
before voting."
That woke me up faster than a vat of coffee. "MOM, what are you talking about? What Blue Army? And how long have you been in this army?"
Silence.
"Mom?"
Her answer was nonchalant, "It's just a group of women who pray to Mary. The headquarters are only an hour away in New Jersey somewhere north of here. Your grandmother was a member too. It was started after The War."
So of course after I got off the phone because she had things to do and places to go, I headed for the internet to look it up. Basically, it seemed like a harmless adventure, praying for world peace. I was a little put off by the "free if you purchase more than $25" Lady of Fatima blessed prayer handkerchiefs and the high priced rosary beads in the gift shop, but I figured my siblings would react better to this "news about Mom" than if she was dating again.