Friday, July 8, 2011

Workin' The Crowd... Seriously

Second time 'round for posting this pic...
but it makes a point!
This picture was taken at Bri 'n' Kell's 2010 Eve-Eve party. Mom was not-too-shy of 92. Ah, she's still charmin' them. Case In Point: T.J., an exceptionally nice friend of the kids, went in for a hug. They'd never met before. A good night. Just look at that foxy lady making that man smile. 

Seriously, though, at her age there are issues. It upset me a tad, recently, when Aubs didn't want to visit with Big Nan. "Why, Sugar?" "Because, G'ma, she keeps asking me the same question, over and over." It's true. You've all dealt with it, I'm sure. It's the plague of the elderly, when they run out of things to say. I explained to my Girl that this can be tough to deal with for all of us; and it's not really Nan's fault. With words, I gently marched Aubs through Nan's younger days, pointing out that she was eight years old, too, at one time. "How 'bout trying to steer the conversation to something else, when this happens?" asked I of Aubs. And so, we went for the visit. I'll be darned if I didn't get knowing looks from that sweet child, as she did just that. I helped her out a little, the problem seemingly solved. And Nan was happy to  have some fresh chatting fodder. Bringing me to yesterday....

For a change of scenery, I brought Mom back to the Old Homestead. It was just she and I, without the normal flurry of her Grands or Greats. After she made the same comment multiple times, I recalled my own advice. Thus began an exploration of her early memories. I learned a lot. It's not that we'd not shared before... I'd heard many of the stories. But this was different. It was like a Barbra Walters interview, with specific queries, and moi in the role of Babs. Watch out, Cousins, 'cause I've got the dirt. We had fun.