MeeMaw

Today I went to visit my great-grandmother, who we children affectionately call MeeMaw. MeeMaw is 96 years old, but I don't think she looks it. She has been losing her vision and hearing for awhile. Sometimes she remembers me and sometimes she doesn't, I usually have to tell her who I am.

When I go to visit her, I paint her nails and tease her about finding herself a boyfriend. She always replies that she has no time for that and we laugh. She really likes red nail polish, but today she asked me to paint them black and white. I didn't have black and white polish, so I stuck with red and told her she would have to wait until Halloween for me to paint them black and we laughed again.

I can remember MeeMaw taking me to lunch and to Peebles department store when I was little. I always loved going with her. I remember that she always had Bubblicious or Bubble Yum gum in the top drawer of her chest. She always loved reading and she enjoyed word searches. She would also give me her little samples from the beauty shop where she got her hair done every week, so I had some nice little lotions and shampoo. Since she lived across the street from us, my brother, sister and I would go up there often. I remember forgetting my house key on numerous occasions and having to go knock on her bedroom window so that she would come open the door for me to hangout until my parents got home.

I'll admit that sometimes it feels inconvenient to go visit her. She lives in another city and so sometimes I don't feel like driving, or like trying to come up with things to talk about, but then I think about her. What must it feel like to not be able to do the things you once did all the time. What is it like to need someone to dress you to take you to your appointments, to tell you when to eat and when to take your medicine.

I believe that sometimes our society is so busy that we start to look at spending time with people as something to check off our to-do list rather than a chance to learn, to help, to bless, and to love. We really need to get back to honoring people, even those that seem to not have much to offer. We need to honor our elders and our families and do everything we can for them.

I love my MeeMaw. She loves me. The greatest gift I can give her right now is my time.

People are not an interruption in our lives- they are why we're here! ~Christine Caine