Friday, December 01, 2006
My Grandma, She's 85; she drinks; she steals; she's still alive.
My mother's mother is my only surviving grandparent. Her name is Gertrude Marie Allison and she's a sweetheart. For as long as I can remember I have called her "Granmarie"... at some point I started abrieviating her name as "GM" when I needed to write her name. GM caught on with the my mother's two sisters and now we use "Granmarie" and "GM" interchangeably in speech. This picture is of her and me at my Aunt Susan's house on Thanksgiving Day this year.
Anyhoo, about 10 years ago GM started to show significant mental changes. She started seeing a doctor at Stanford named Skallabrin... I decided that since GM was showing the signs of age-related dementia that I would refer to her doctor as Doctor Scatterbrain. What can I say? Joke 'em if they can't take a f*. GM's condition has progressed to the point where her once lively and engaging personality has faded to such an extent that one has to know her and be willing in order to still see the Granmarie that once was. That is, to the casual or impatient observer, she appears disoriented and absent. In fact, she still recoginizes her daughters and her grandson - that'd be me :-) and she will occasionaly rattle off a quip or give a look that only GM could create. It's true that she doesn't say much and she's lost track of time as we know it. It's also true that she's built like a tank (sturdy, that is). She motors around quite well without assistance, and will occasionaly 'go on tour' from the assisted living facility where she resides.
My mother's two sisters are named Cinda and Susan. Cinda is married to a man named Joe. Joe is part narcoleptic (which doesn't have anything to do with this story, but it does explain the pose he is striking in this picture).
Anyhoo, about 10 years ago GM started to show significant mental changes. She started seeing a doctor at Stanford named Skallabrin... I decided that since GM was showing the signs of age-related dementia that I would refer to her doctor as Doctor Scatterbrain. What can I say? Joke 'em if they can't take a f*. GM's condition has progressed to the point where her once lively and engaging personality has faded to such an extent that one has to know her and be willing in order to still see the Granmarie that once was. That is, to the casual or impatient observer, she appears disoriented and absent. In fact, she still recoginizes her daughters and her grandson - that'd be me :-) and she will occasionaly rattle off a quip or give a look that only GM could create. It's true that she doesn't say much and she's lost track of time as we know it. It's also true that she's built like a tank (sturdy, that is). She motors around quite well without assistance, and will occasionaly 'go on tour' from the assisted living facility where she resides.
My mother's two sisters are named Cinda and Susan. Cinda is married to a man named Joe. Joe is part narcoleptic (which doesn't have anything to do with this story, but it does explain the pose he is striking in this picture).
Cinda and Joe have been out of town 
since Friday, and Joe left/forgot his cell-phone at home. I'm staying at Cinda and Joe's house off and on while I recover from my recent ills, and Susan came over and spent the night here Tuesday. Wednesday morning she went and picked up GM and brought her back to Cinda and Joe's place. The three of us kicked it for a couple of hours... had some lunch, puttered, sat around, etc. Before Susan and GM left I went to take a nap; when I woke up they were gone.
Thursday morning I get a call from my Aunt Susan; she says, "I've got two questions for you." I say, "OK; what are they?"... "have you seen a small white sock around? I think I left it there" "no" "are you missing a pager-looking thingy? maybe a cell-phone?" "no... oh for two" "Hmmmmm... I found this thing in the trunk of my car; it says Cingular on it... it's not a cell-phone, cause it doesn't have a place to talk into." By now I'm totally lost, and saying to myself, "self, this is just further evidence that my Aunt Susan is out of her mind." She then says that this device she found has been buzzing and beeping all morning, and then I look over on the end table where Joe left his cell-phone and I say, "AHA! That's Joe's cell phone." Then Susan says, "Gee Tennessee, how did it get in my trunk??" To which I reply, "Maybe the same person who stole your sock also stole Joe's cell phone and put it in your trunk."
I can only hope that I provide this much entertainment to the world when I'm GM's age. And to my Aunts Cinda and Susan, I'm so pleased that we've gotten to spend so much together the last three months... not the circumstances we would have chosen, but what's done is done; and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love you both.
d.
since Friday, and Joe left/forgot his cell-phone at home. I'm staying at Cinda and Joe's house off and on while I recover from my recent ills, and Susan came over and spent the night here Tuesday. Wednesday morning she went and picked up GM and brought her back to Cinda and Joe's place. The three of us kicked it for a couple of hours... had some lunch, puttered, sat around, etc. Before Susan and GM left I went to take a nap; when I woke up they were gone.Thursday morning I get a call from my Aunt Susan; she says, "I've got two questions for you." I say, "OK; what are they?"... "have you seen a small white sock around? I think I left it there" "no" "are you missing a pager-looking thingy? maybe a cell-phone?" "no... oh for two" "Hmmmmm... I found this thing in the trunk of my car; it says Cingular on it... it's not a cell-phone, cause it doesn't have a place to talk into." By now I'm totally lost, and saying to myself, "self, this is just further evidence that my Aunt Susan is out of her mind." She then says that this device she found has been buzzing and beeping all morning, and then I look over on the end table where Joe left his cell-phone and I say, "AHA! That's Joe's cell phone." Then Susan says, "Gee Tennessee, how did it get in my trunk??" To which I reply, "Maybe the same person who stole your sock also stole Joe's cell phone and put it in your trunk."
I can only hope that I provide this much entertainment to the world when I'm GM's age. And to my Aunts Cinda and Susan, I'm so pleased that we've gotten to spend so much together the last three months... not the circumstances we would have chosen, but what's done is done; and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love you both.
d.
