My great-grandmother turned 89 today.
We baked a cake and made lasagna and went to visit her last night. She suffers from Alzheimer's, so she didn't really know that it was her birthday, but she still remembers who we are (she even remembers my husband Ed, though we've only been married a little over a year. That one is still hard for her sometimes.)
She had a good night. Sometimes it's harder for her to interact and make conversation, and she is more confused. However, last night she was having fun. She was making jokes and trying to sneak a taste of the cake before we ate dinner.
After dinner, when my mom asked if Grandma was ready for cake she said, "Well yes!" and then looked at my brother's new girlfriend Elodie and said, "You know, she wouldn't let me have any before."
When I told her that I made the cake for her birthday she said,
"My birthday?! Well how old am I?"
I told her.
" I am?!" she asked, with wide eyes.
"You are, can you believe it?"
"Well no I can't"
It was wonderful to spend some time with her. As we were leaving she said, "Well thanks for coming over for my birthday. I don't know how many more I'll have." My uncle quickly reassured her that she had at least 11 left. "I've been telling you for a long time that you're going to live to be 100," he said. She just giggled.
It's amazing to think of all that she has seen in her lifetime. She was born in 1920! It's just incredible. I'm thinking about it even more lately considering the approaching inauguration. She'll probably only catch footage of Obama's address on accident--she doesn't pay much attention to politics these days--but she has lived to see so many changes in our world. It's inspiring just to think about.
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