Oldies but Goodies

I don't look forward to being old. Not old for old's sake. I do look forward to how much more life I will get to experience. How my kid (and kids to come) will grow, what they'll experience, what their kids will be like and experience, etc. However, I don't look forward to the decline of the human body, the inability to take care of myself and the the increasing likelihood of being alone without Bob.

We went to visit Bob's grandmother today. The woman is bionic. She has had multiple types of cancer, I think 4. Anyway, she is one tough lady. In fact, she was also Miss Alabama back in 1948 and went to the Miss America pageant. She's in a nursing home b/c of a fall about a year ago. We were all (Bob, his parents and I) kind of talking about getting her into an assisted living situation, but before any of that got put into motion, she fell, hit her head and since then, has experienced some dementia. For about the last 10 months, she hasn't really even realized that she used to live alone. She has, for the most part, been content in the nursing home. Just recently, like in the past 2 weeks, she has started asking about her car and her house. However, she seems to think she is "in a coffee house", in the "library on the hill." In all actuality, she is in a nursing home on a hill. So I guess she's 1 for 3. Also, her favorite phrase now is "whatever". It's kinda hilarious.

Anyway, we went to see her today and to introduce her to Sam. It went well. I have to admit, I was a little nervous taking our 2 month old to a nursing home. Luckily, Bob's parents were sensitive to my nervousness, and maybe they were nervous too. So, they had Grandma out front when we got there. We had a nice 30ish minute visit right outside the door so of course everyone who walked by commented on Sam. I'm not gonna lie, it 's nice to hear everyone say how adorable and precious he is. (Even though I am aware that everyone says every baby is adorable...it's not a true reflection on how cute your kid is).

Of course there are "mature" people that seemed to get around well. In fact, my own grandfather (on my mom's side) is 88 and gets around really well. He's had a couple knee replacements (I think both sides done twice), but other than that, he's doing great! Most of the mature people coming in and out of the nursing home were not at a stage anyone really looks forward to. Keep in mind, we never went inside the nursing home...these are just people that can get around and are allowed outside, or are visitors.

So all that to say, I'm not looking forward to being old. I am looking forward to getting there.