I went to Albany to see Gram and PTAMom's family and AngerTrain. Gram has recently moved from the apartment she inhabited for twenty years. She's in semi-assisted living now. It's a sort of sad little place. It's got a bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen. There's a sort of large hallway in the front that has two big closets. In all, it's a very appropriate place to live for my grandmother. In all, it totally stinks because she's not overly fond of it.
Although I'm sad about seeing her living in a place she doesn't like, I was glad to see her. She's 86 years old and she's still pissed off that the doctor who delivered her put the wrong date on the certificate. She was born at 11:30 pm on 31 October. He wrote in November 1.
And she's still pissed off!
It's good to know that things change, but there are some unchangeable items that we must always carry in our pockets to reassure us that we're still who we think we are.
I spent some time with my wee cousin. He's almost four. He colored in Tigger in his coloring book. I played with the MagnaDoodle. Then he had to pee. So I got up to open the door and turn on the light. I asked if he needed help or anything. He said, "Nope." I told him that I'd be right nearby if he needed anything. "Okay. You can leave the door for me to close." I nodded and walked back to the living room where the wee cousin's dad (my regular sized cousin) was sitting. Wee cousin walked out with his pants unbuttoned, one hand on the waistband holding them up, and the other prodding me in the side. He said, "If someone wants to come with me into the bathroom, that would be okay."
Fabulous! How fabulous is that! He's a smarty, that one. He also mentioned, earlier in the day, that he had heartburn. He said that it's when you have fire in your heart and it goes up your throat and you have heartburn. You can't make it better by eating. You have to drink.
Fabulous! And for some reason, the doctor said that he shouldn't drink milk for a while. So they were giving him Gatorade. He couldn't remember the name. So he called it Alligator Ale.
Fabulous again! And he tired out my grandmother so that she didn't want to play anymore. That takes some doing. But he did beat up AngerTrain with his double-chop karate chop. And when he did the Power Ranger "power-up!" Man, it's like a different planet when you're around someone who says that it's okay to have a pal in the bathroom.
Posted by dotty at February 27, 2005 11:55 PM