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FULLING IN THE BLANKS
Immediately after a grandson and his grandma walked into the bookstore…the grandson walked up to me…a little bit bemused…and asked if I would help his grandma…he smiled saying…”She is a bit confused.”
“Certainly!” I said without a moment’s hesitation…then the grandson told me this story…as a way of explanation.
Grandma was always giving me little gifts…to praise me when I’d succeed or to encourage me when I’d fall. She filled my life with memories…perhaps her greatest gift of all.
So many wonderful memories over the years…such a wide and beautiful array…
which is why it makes me sad to watch her memories slipping away.
“I can’t understand it!” She will say as tears from her eyes spill.
“But there are blanks within my memory I cannot seem to fill.”
It so unfair…so depressing…so confusing…so unkind…
to watch so many of our wonderful memories get lost within her mind.
So now, every time I visit her…whether planned or out of the blue
I bring with me my smile…and all my memories too.
Sometimes we sit for hours…sharing a laugh, a smile… a groan….
Hoping from out my shared memories she’ll find some of her own.
“When I saw your bookstore I thought perhaps it will help plant a seed into my grandma’s memories…because grandma loved to read.”
Luckily the store was empty…was it luck…or was if fate…so for the next 20 minutes I took his grandma on a date.
We walked around I showed her books…mostly I answered her questions…even when…she asked me the same questions…over and over again.
I’m not sure how much good I did…if any memories she reclaimed…
but just before they left her grandson thanked me…just the same.
As I watched them walk away I thought what a beautiful way to say I love you…
what a wonderful way of giving thanks…
a grandson sharing his memories with his grandma…
doing his best to fill in all her blanks.
