I haven't blogged about my grandma for awhile, but I know at least a few of you enjoy my grandma stories, so I thought I'd write a few updates about her.
My grandma, whose name is Fran by the way, tells me she's living on borrowed time lately. She's been telling me this for about three or four years but it always worries me when she says it. She's almost 92 so you never know, right? A couple months ago, her son told her he's coming to visit in December. She adores her son (my uncle) so she is really looking forward to this. But when telling me about it, she got overwhelmed at the idea of having to wait a couple months for his visit. She sighed heavily and said, "First I had to stay alive for Barry's wedding (my cousin), and now I have to stay alive for Larry's visit." I told her it was only a couple months away and she could manage it. She agreed that she could probably make it to December. Just to play it safe though, she decided to celebrate her January birthday with the November birthdays in her building because she's "not sure she's going to be around in January."
Yesterday I called her after work to ask her if I could pick her up any dinner. She thought about it for a bit and said, "How about a strawberry milkshake?" I said,"Is that all?" She said yes. So I got her a medium strawberry milkshake from McDonalds (her favorite), and she sipped away at "her supper" while I helped her with some stuff at her place. I guess when you're almost 92, ice cream for dinner is completely acceptable. (She finished the whole thing.)
Now, I know you'll have a hard time believing this story, but she recently told me that while she still loves my curly hair, and still thinks men prefer curly hair, she has been liking the way I've been wearing my straight(ened) hair lately. I should have gotten that in writing....
She has a best friend who lives in her building, a blind man named Lewis. Every Saturday evening he walks over to her apartment and they have dinner together then watch the O'Reilly Factor*. In one of their recent get-togethers the conversation turned to me and my persistent state of single-ness. She complained to Lewis that though she prays for me to get married all the time, God must just not be doing His job. Lewis wisely told her that God works in his own way, and that seemed to pacify her for the time being.
I'm not sure if I've told you this before, but my grandma thinks the best case scenario for me is to find a widower to marry. Specifically a widower with kids. She justifies this fantasy by saying, "you're just so good with kids." I have to say, "I know I'm not in my twenties anymore, Grandma, but I can still have children of my own." I'm not sure if she believes me on that account or not but she seems skeptical. Either way, she's sticking by the plan for me to find a widower. I just hope she's not trying to find one for me in her retirement complex.
I'm really lucky to have my grandma in my life. She really is very sweet to me and though I know I'm far too flawed to believe I'm as great as she tells me I am, her kind words stick with me after I leave her place. I just need to plan a big event for a few months from now (and another a few months later) that she "has to stay alive for." Any suggestions?
*She recently told me that watching tv just makes her angry most of the time. I can't help but wonder if her choice of programming is the problem. I told her to stick to sitcoms.
6 comments:
I suppose that your wedding on 12-12-12 is too far away. Hmmm...maybe you can promise her more of your home-baked cookies. Besides strawberry shakes, they're her favorite. Funny - finding a spouse for her among her fellow residents. None of them are under 75!
Hee hee!! Oh, G-ma Franny J. She's so great! I wonder if there's a Make-A-Wish type deal for the elderly where you can bring in some celebrity that they want to meet before they go or something. If we could make that happen in April or May, then you get married on 12-12-12, we'd be good for a year!
Boy...there's a lot of pressure on me to get married in one year.... i hope i can do it!
Katherine, you think like me... at least in one way. (Maybe if you knew me better you'd be offended.) Anywho (I think that's appropriate lingo for the generation to which we are referring...) When my Dad had terminal brain cancer, I wanted to fly him in for a trip to see Willie Nelson in Ft. Worth (It's an annual thing.) It never came to fruition, and I'm not sure he could've endured it, but I hope I can do something like that later and it will still count.
This is a very sweet blog, make sure she gets a copy of this post. I made a collage for Dad's funeral, and later realized I should've done that before he passed, so I made one for my mom for her 65th. You can do one for Gramma Fran and tell her she'll have to wait for her birthday... then drag it out to include other photos :D
You are by no means the very last, but the Lord did save the best... so good things are just around corner, as far as marriage is concerned. You, however, are too far, I'd love it if you were around the corner!
BTW, had a gal over for Thanksgiving and her personality reminded me of you. But sadly it made me miss you more!
A widower? If he's a mormon like you, that would make you a polygamist. I think Lewis has the right idea on timetables. Maybe he has a nephew or grandson!
If you figure out how to program your grandma's tv so it skips Fox news, let me know. I'd like to do the same for my dad.
I'll keep my eye out for a widower!
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