Last week after visiting my Nana Ruth, I left feeling a little troubled and a little sad. She is just not quite who she used to be and well, I miss my Nana. On the one hand I feel like my kids and my Nana are so lucky that they know each other - a great grandmother she is! But on the other hand, they will never know the "real" Nana Ruth.
I wish that they could float in the pool or on the lake with Nana, like I did as a girl. She was a water lover and I would push her around her pool for hours. She would listen...she is a great listener...and talk and float and it was perfect. She was so indulgent. Always offering the yummiest treats, chocolate AND strawberry milk, and -gasp- whole cans of soda!! All these items taboo at our own house. We would walk in the park, listening to grandpa, and her presence was just so relaxed and sweet. And always entering her house you would be welcomed by the shuffling slippers and the "di di di" song that was so her.
Things are different now. She is different now. That is hard and sad.
But the thing is, the kids aren't sad. They know a different Nana Ruth. They know the Nana who lives in the big building with a fish tank in the lobby, elevator buttons to push, and a terrace to explore. They know the Nana who smiles so warmly as they come in and who laughs at their crazy antics. They know the Nana who listens to their stories with interest and who displays their pictures so proudly.
Most importantly - they KNOW their Nana.
One of the best things about having kids is that they help you to focus on what really matters.
1 comment:
So beautifully said. Thank you for thinking of my mom in such a loving way. She is not the same . . . but not a day goes by that she doesn't ask for you and the kids. Some things will never change.
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