Grandma turned 95 yesterday.
I was lucky to be able to join her with Mom and Dad at a little restaurant with exactly what she wanted (even though she hates the decor and complains about, even while going on and on about the coconut cake).
The soup of the day was a lamb and braised beef stew, which happened to also be a specialty of Grandma's mom (aka Reb). Reb was a kind and inspirational woman who I remember as always active in whatever community she was in, and was an avid do-gooder. She believed in making things better, and apparently also couldn't stand to eat the skins of fruits and vegetables. Grandma told us that when her mom made lamb stew, she peeled the skins off of the lima beans that went into it. She also peeled her grapes...while comparing herself to May West! Gotta love the chutzpah in my family. At least I come by it honestly.
Grandma told us about some of her mom's family, too. She started naming her long gone relatives: Ida, Fannie, Sam(uel), Max, Jack/Jacob, Sarah, Katie, several Hermans, Lillian. It made me with I had a passel of kids so I could give them all those fabulous names! I guess I could name my bookcases or my garden implements, but that doesn't seem quite right. The names came up, because I asked about the story of how Grandma named me. The funny thing is, no one at the table remembered the story I've heard my entire life. Maybe it's just the story I wanted to hear. Either that, or the almost 70 year-olds and the 95 year-old are forgetting more than they're willing to admit. Kind of like how Mom forgot how old I was last week. Awesome. This is going to get more fun as they get older. Um, yeah.
Back to dinner...Grandma doesn't like to sit around. She gets uncomfortable. She is, after all, 95. Her spine is crumbling, and S shaped. Her legs and back and arms hurt. Her teeth keep falling out and have finally gotten a partial denture so that she can chew soft foods again.
I think the most uncomfortable thing for her at dinner was after it was over...when she had coconut stuck under her dentures from the cake. She couldn't wait to leave and rinse out her teeth.
I hope we get to enjoy dinner again next March 6th. If not, I'll just smile and think of Grandma.
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