A Visit With Grandma

I took some flak for last week's blog from a couple people who thought I embellished the truth a little bit. Me? Exaggerate?? Pshaw.

It's not the first time, of course. When I've been challenged in the past on my recollection of events here on this blog, my patent response is, "That's what I recall." I mean, nobody's memory is infallible, right?

Maybe I take after my grandmother a bit in that regard. I visited her this past weekend and she still delights in recounting stories from her youth, many filled with the details of drama and irony of that mark most of a century.

In fact, when I asked my grandmother how old she is as I wasn't too sure, she told me that she's now a hundred years old. That might be a slight exaggeration. I believe she's closer to 98. But when you're up there that far in years, I guess you're entitled to round off.

Some of her other stories may "round off" a detail or two as well. But like my stories, it's obviously what she recalls. And her mind is still sharp. I was told that she might have difficulty remembering me. My sister commented to me recently during a visit that my grandmother couldn't remember her at first. And later she remembered my sister visiting her with "some Marine." That was my sister's husband who was in the Marines more than a couple decades ago.

But as my wife Wendy and I prepared to drive the 100 miles north to Bay City, I was more worried that my grandma might have a comment on my largesse, since I might have put on a few pounds since our last visit. That was about a year ago and I remember being thinner then after all the walking I did on vacation in London. That's what I recall anyway.

Wendy helped me pick out some clothes that would make me look thinner. Then, up in Bay City, father and I drove over to my grandmother's residence (Madonna lived there at one time) which is an assisted living facility.

As we entered her room, grandma was sitting by the window, looking very dapper in a dark brown fleece jacket and white top. She looked at me, then at my father, then at me again. I wasn't sure she recognized either of us, but some of that may be due to her eyesight which she said hasn't been that good lately. Finally, I said, "It's Dave."

Then she remembered. Looking me over more closely now, she said, "You put on a little weight." *sigh* Couldn't she have just rounded off?