Thanks for sharing that, Hesperides!! :) I loved it.
I was actually just thinking today of writing a post about my grandmother, but didn't know where it would fit or if it'd be pointful, because I just wanted to say how excellent she is...brought on by a phonecall we had last night - she rang me late at night for some tech support (her internet was down). She's nearing 100, but seems a lot younger. It was so good talking to her for an hour or so last night, because she's so upbeat. Having a random chat with her always feels like a remembering of what's important and what's not. She NEVER gives up. In the last ten years she's kept on and on with learning how to use computers and got to the stage where she can usually figure things out by herself.
She was telling me about her friend who recently died, and that she only has one friend left of a similar age to her, who's in a nursing home.. she's stopped comparing herself to others because, in her words, "I know I'm weird". She and my grandfather live on their rural property.. he has a form of alzheimers now, but she looks after him. She always has stuff going on... her life's way more busy than mine! She doesn't get out and maintain their property because that was always grandfather's job, so now she has various workmen and women who she pays to do all the outside stuff. Every time I visit, there's someone there doing something or other..
She's constantly corresponding with people by phone, email and snail mail... she's still in touch with, seemingly, everyone she's ever met. I recently found out that she still exchanges Christmas cards every year with the lady who ran a Thai restaurant in my hometown, which we went to a couple times in the 1980s. (Gran has an affinity for Thailand, having lived there in the 60s - she and Grandfather were there as missionaries, living and working with the Hmong hill tribes). When I was at her house a few days ago she got a call from a guy from Singapore who she helped in some way when he was a kid.. nowadays he's a business executive at some big corporation. He was asking her if his teenage daughter, who is in Australia at the moment, could come stay at her house. She said "well, yes she's welcome to, but I think she'll be very bored".
She's a very sharp person, and can be quite prickly, but at the same time the most generous person I know. She's extremely judgemental, but that doesn't stop her from helping anyone in need. It seems to me that hardly anyone understands her... most of our own family don't like her. My sister and I used to think we really hated her, when we were little kids.. But in the last few years I've come to like her very, very much. I'm sure I had heaps of other random stories I was going to tell about her, but will stop now... just wanted to share a bit of how cool my gran is :)
My other grandma died a few years ago, also almost at 100.. I won't go on about her now but she was also great, in a different way. The most stoic person I ever met. I feel very lucky...
