My Other Mother

You have to be at least 80 to rock a Christmas vest and turtle neck.

Norman is my Grandma. Her real name is Betty.

She's my favorite old lady.

I've called her Norman since I was a kid. Norman after Henry Fonda's character in On Golden Pond, one of my favorite movies.

She called me Ethel, after Kate Hepburn's character in the same movie. My nickname never stuck. I can't say I'm unhappy about that fact.

Norman is fun. We laugh until the tears roll. She shares her wisdom with me without me even knowing I'm learning. She tells me about the lean years, living in the Depression, and how she snagged such a cool cat like my Grandpa. She never has a cross word, goes easily along with everything anyone wants to do, and is happiest just being with her family.

I stayed at her house Saturday night. We had a bit of a slumber party, visited the guys out at the cabin, and then returned to her house. We looked at old pictures and as I cleaned her living and dining room, she told me about all her little figurines and doodads.

What a fun time. I have to do this more often. As I watched her struggle to walk from place to place and the vagueness that would come over her face from time to time, I realized, I won't have this person in my life forever. And I want to soak her in as much as I can.