Six Sentence Story: Return

I woke up this morning, with ideas on how to compose a Six Sentence Story, only to realize that I had remembered the prompt incorrectly. With the new prompt in mind, then, I returned to the task at hand.

"I think my in-laws. . . are dead."

Those words, spoken from a nonagenarian, indicated a reversal in time in her mind. By the time she reached centenarian status, great-great grandchildren never existed; great-grandchildren were forgotten; grandchildren were familiar only in a vague, "I've seen you somewhere before" sort of way, and even her own children, long established as Pat and Jim, reverted back to being Patty and Jimmy.

Photo: Grandma on her 100th birthday

Though the Alzheimer's robbed her of her more recent memories and returned her to increasingly-younger stages of her life, that awful disease could not erase our memories of her as a fiercely independent, hard-working, intelligent woman with a can-do attitude, who treated everyone kindly. She's the one who wired the upstairs of the old farmhouse after checking out a how-to electrician's book from the library; the one who learned to play the piano after retirement; the one who faithfully attended water aerobics into her 80's; the one who stayed up-to-date with computers until the Alzheimer's prevented it; and the one who always--even now--has a smile and soft-spoken word for anyone.

I do not know how far back in time Alzheimer's will take her--she is already talking more about her mama--but I do hope that she can somehow realize during her return to childhood that there are many people who love and admire her, and who recognize her depth of character.

Thanks for memories, even when we lose our own.

Ten Things of Thankful: 39 Years Edition

A political map of the world circa 1987. The Soviet Union takes up a sizable portion. A lot has happened in the last 39 years. The Berlin Wall came down. The Soviet Union collapsed. The Twin Towers fell. Technology has changed: landlines and phone booths are practically extinct, and random questions can be answered in seconds by asking Google, Siri, or Alexa. No longer do drivers keep the Thomas Guide in their cars; navigation systems will give turn-by-turn directions, and recalculate when the driver doesn't follow the directions. Some cars don't even need drivers. While many shoppers do their shopping in-person, some simply log into Amazon and have their item show up on their doorstep--sometimes within hours. I've seen pieces of the Berlin Wall. I've traveled to places that used to be behind the Iron Curtain. I've been to Ground Zero. I no longer have a house phone, and have looked up the answers to countless questions using my cell phone. I do not miss the stress...

Ten Things of Thankful: April Showers Edition

A red peony bud prepares to open fully After an incredibly dry winter, we had a bit of precipitation this past week, in the form of falling snow. We didn't have much, and it didn't really stick, but we'll take water however it wants to come. Fortunately, my peonies seem unaffected by the cold snap, and are ready to put on a show here soon. 1. I'm thankful for moisture. 2. I'm thankful the flowers are still going to bloom. I don't know how the colder temperatures will affect the fruit crops. The strawberries look like they are still planning to set fruit. We'll have to see what happens with the peach, apricot, pear, and apple. (The apricot only bears heavily every other year anyway, and I think this is an "off" year--though I could be wrong.) Strawberry plants in full bloom 3. I'm thankful for anticipated berries. We continue to clear out and otherwise prepare John's parents' house for sale. I've been going through old photos and...

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago. I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon. (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...

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