Grandma Turns 95

My grandmother turns 95 years old today.  She takes less medication then either of parents, gets around on her own, takes care of herself and has seen almost a century worth of change.  She does not operate in our modern world very much, she has a phone, got rid of her car and license years ago, watches television but does not venture to far from her room in the "senior living community" she lives in.  She is in better shape than almost all of the others in the building.

I've written letters to her for years.  In fact, that was one of the first places that I learned how to write.  It was in the form of thank you notes, wish lists or what happened during the summer types of correspondence.  She was always thankful to get the letters and always sent another in return.  It was her way to ensure that the chain of information was not broken.  

These letters slowed down on my part during my teenage and college years.  It was always something that I knew I should do, but something I could never get myself to do.  I was too busy with my ego, figuring out who I was (or thought I was), what I wanted to do in life and how much I ached to get out of Stockton.  The letters would have made a difference because she would have been able to simply assure me to follow my heart or write a story from her past that she knew would help me see the situation a little bit differently.  

When I got married and settled down the letters started to flow again.  I had stories to tell, pictures to share and years of advice to seek.  I never had to ask overtly for the advice, it was always implied in the outgoing missive and always returned in kind.  The letters have been far more enjoyable to write then any phone conversation I could ever imagine.  

It took a lot for my grandmother to move from Lancaster to Stockton.  Lancaster was where she had raised her children, helped support a family, lost a son and a husband.  It was her house and neighborhood no matter how desolate the cityscape may have been.  My oldest brother and I took turns visiting her when we both lived in southern california (prior to moving to Sacramento).  The visits were always to ensure that she was in good spirits and good health.  It took everything we had to get ourselves to go but once there the visit itself was always a pleasure.

I talk about my grandmother a lot to students.  Most of them know their grandparents but do not have the idea of what 95 is like.  They ask me many questions about the changes she has been through and I relay the information back to them because I already know the answers.  They were the same questions that I have asked her over so many years of writing letters.  I'll be sending another out today because I know that we both love the process.