Grandma Did it Right
My grandmother did something really nice today (or I guess a couple days ago since we received it in the mail today).
Grandma is pushing 90 but you would never know it. I'd say she is spunky that might be considered a put-down to her. Nothing gets her down. She has survived two husbands, cancer, heart disease and takes care of everyone she knows. She navigates the Internet better than most 50-year-olds. However, sometimes she isn't too grandmotherly in the cookie-making way you might think about. I had a boyfriend die 12 years ago. Grandma didn't send me flowers or any advice. She sent me a box of sexy nighties that would make a 20-year-old blush that she bought with her second husband when she was in her 50s. I was touched. There are more examples of this type of matronly support.
Take two weeks ago, for example. I called her on a particularly blue day. My son, Aidan, was facing open-heart surgery the next week and I was having a hard time getting it under control. I was crying and Grandma told me I wasn't being brave. It pissed me off. Jeff and I had no choice in this bravery thing. We were forced to watch our son endure 4 heart surgeries before the age of 3 and we have faced it head on. I'm allowed to cry, by God. I've been mad ever since. Until today.
My grandmother is a long day's drive away. We only see her a couple times a year. When we were little kids, it was a huge deal to see my grandparents. I would be super excited to see them. But I was more excited to see the "Goodie Drawer" that my grandmother setup. In it would be various useless knick knacks that an adult would toss but a little kid would love. Empty lotion bottles with pennies, combs, finger puppets and the like. It is a warm memory to think of the Goodie Drawer and the esteem I would hold it. Much to my mother's chagrin, I would sometimes brush past my grandparents to visit it.
Today is Aidan's 3rd birthday. In the mail he received a box from Grandma. It is filled with Goodie Drawer essentials: a mini teddy bear, a fish with a wind-up tail, a mini snowglobe, and--Aidan's favorite--wind-up feet.
I forgive my Grandma for telling me I wasn't being brave. She was just helping in the best way she knows how. Sometimes she gets it right.
Grandma is pushing 90 but you would never know it. I'd say she is spunky that might be considered a put-down to her. Nothing gets her down. She has survived two husbands, cancer, heart disease and takes care of everyone she knows. She navigates the Internet better than most 50-year-olds. However, sometimes she isn't too grandmotherly in the cookie-making way you might think about. I had a boyfriend die 12 years ago. Grandma didn't send me flowers or any advice. She sent me a box of sexy nighties that would make a 20-year-old blush that she bought with her second husband when she was in her 50s. I was touched. There are more examples of this type of matronly support.
Take two weeks ago, for example. I called her on a particularly blue day. My son, Aidan, was facing open-heart surgery the next week and I was having a hard time getting it under control. I was crying and Grandma told me I wasn't being brave. It pissed me off. Jeff and I had no choice in this bravery thing. We were forced to watch our son endure 4 heart surgeries before the age of 3 and we have faced it head on. I'm allowed to cry, by God. I've been mad ever since. Until today.
My grandmother is a long day's drive away. We only see her a couple times a year. When we were little kids, it was a huge deal to see my grandparents. I would be super excited to see them. But I was more excited to see the "Goodie Drawer" that my grandmother setup. In it would be various useless knick knacks that an adult would toss but a little kid would love. Empty lotion bottles with pennies, combs, finger puppets and the like. It is a warm memory to think of the Goodie Drawer and the esteem I would hold it. Much to my mother's chagrin, I would sometimes brush past my grandparents to visit it.
Today is Aidan's 3rd birthday. In the mail he received a box from Grandma. It is filled with Goodie Drawer essentials: a mini teddy bear, a fish with a wind-up tail, a mini snowglobe, and--Aidan's favorite--wind-up feet.
I forgive my Grandma for telling me I wasn't being brave. She was just helping in the best way she knows how. Sometimes she gets it right.
posted by Ms Cool at 8:10 PM
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