GRANDMA

She lives in a trailer on the side of a highway  on property where her family has lived for 7 generations. You might see her in grubby sneakers and a man’s sweatshirt on the five acres between the highway and the woods.  Her garden has more weeds than vegetables and she cuts five acres of grass in the shapes of ovals, circles, figure 8s, or paisley prints.

No more migraines from trying too hard, she has chosen to be transparent. If you visit and her house is a mess, just scoot the newspapers out of a chair and sit down. If you want a cup of coffee, help yourself. You can even make it if the pot is not on.

She tries to learn some new skill each month, but good enough is good enough. She is not a perfectionist in any one of them. She painted summer clouds on a bedroom ceiling and trees along the walls.  Her kitchen, where all her entertaining is done, is repainted every year or when the feeling strikes, or if she finds a cool paint cheap. She hand paints flowers on her kitchen cabinets, then washes them off when a new season comes.

She might let you help rescue a preloved bear for a toy drive, or wrap gifts for a Sunday School class. You can help plant a garden or paint your own creation on her wall beneath van Gogh’s Starry Night. She doesn’t try to pretend that she is pretty or smart or even organized.  She’ll just be herself and let you be you. She’s delighted to have you visit and will think you are wonderful anyway.

She loves drop-in company and sometimes does not even scramble to put her shoes on when she answers the door. She’ll offer coffee or tea or hunt up a Coke if you want. There may be some homemade brownies left from Wednesday’s church supper.

If you are kin, you’ll get a free lecture on the families in your tree with computer printouts to take home and copies of photos of the homeplaces nearby. If you are hurting or worried, or  grieving, she will take your hand and pray with you.  She is an all purpose Grandma.

She is still rebelling against the schedules she obeyed   before she retired.  She can finally read all she wants.  There are usually some books on the nightstand, by the recliner or in the front porch swing.  A good book may keep her reading until 3 am because she knows she can cut off the alarm and go back to sleep until 10 am.

She now does her traveling by Facebook, checking out pictures of the great grandchildren and their kids, watching videos of their events hundreds of miles away. She blogs, cautions, and encourages loved ones from her messy computers room without airline tickets or long drives. Each morning she visits family as she enjoys her morning coffee.She knows she is blessed.