A Day in the Park

Yesterday was beautiful here in Cincinnati. The temperature was 72 degrees, the warmest so far this year. Mylina and I picked up my grand mother, Ruth and took her to the park for a mini-picnic. We bought some Subway sandwiches and chips and a couple of sodas and we were off.

Gram loves to do things, and go places, but it is getting increasingly difficult as she slows down a bit. She is 92, and after having a stroke several years ago, she walks with a walker around the house, but when we go out, I push her in her wheelchair. She kept telling us how wonderful it was to be out and how much she loved the breeze.

Grandma is a remarkable woman. She has seen much, loved many and enjoys her life to the fullest, every single day. She has traveled the world, loved three men totally, and had two wonderful children, my dad and my aunt. She worked for Champion Paper Company for 40 years and built her life from scratch. She is dedicated to her family and friends. Her best friend, Jackie, have known one another for 55+ years (I know that because she remembers me as a baby!). Jackie calls her every single night to check in and and make sure Gram is okay. She is a treasure in Gram's life.

One of the thousand things I love about her is her hands. Even at 92, they are strong, with long straight fingers, hard fingernails and they are easy to hold. They still grasp my hand well, hold on to her beautiful great-great grandchildren, Sierra, Parker and Emery, and reach for my face to give me a kiss. I know she has seen more and experienced more, has had more things fall through her fingers and even more that she has held onto, than most people will ever know. She is a very special person and a woman to be admired.

So we have five generations in our family, and hopefully we will keep that many for several more years. I would love to host a 100th birthday party for her in 2015.