Blessed

Tonight we went to dinner at Grandma Lewis' house.  She wanted to cook a big Thanksgiving style dinner for her family.  We sat down at the table, preparing to say grace.  Papa asked Trevor to bless the food.  A bit uneasy about that request, he said he thought Papa should.  "Naw, I'll be too emotional".  "But I have to say that I am thankful to have Jake's feet under our table.  And I'm thankful to have Trevor's feet under our table" Papa said in the biggest voice he could muster.  At that point Trevor knew he could say grace.  "Bless...."  Yes, Bless.

Dinner was like going to the Hometown Buffet.  Choices.  Lots of them.  All very delicious.  My 95 year old Granny sat between Trevor and I.   She paced herself.  She wanted to try everything but soon had a plateful and I don't think she had much hope for finishing it all.  But she kept going, small bite after small bite.  She looked over at Trevor's empty plate and back to her own.  "You gonna eat with me?"  she asked with a grin.   He grinned back.  "I'm pretty full Grandma".

I sat and visited with my Granny.  At age 95 she is still very spry.  Her theory in life is "motion is lotion".  Even at her ripe age, she is still very active and has her morning chores of feeding the horses and her one bull.  Her garden still produces enough to even feed the sheep.  She told me that her bedroom window faces the highway.  At night if she opens her eyes she sees lights on that highway.  "You know, one night I counted 17 cars during the middle of the night.  Where do you suppose they are going?"  "You're supposed to be sleeping Granny" was my reply.

She spoke of having her first child at home.  It was an accident.  The home birth; it was an accident.  Uncle Clyde came in a hurry.  No time to get anywhere.  "We were so stupid" she said.  "We didn't know anything".  Uncle Clyde turned 75 today.  "I guess it worked out okay".

She talked of her sisters and their last days on this earth.  She talked of growing old and how she's okay with it as long as her mind is still good.  She talked randomly of grandchildren and their children.  She told me to never grow old.  "You have to keep walking"  she advised. 

I could feel her protectiveness that I've never felt before and a gentleness that has ripened with age.  This is the same "I'm not gonna cry with you" Granny who 18 months ago just wanted to fight through the pain with a tough heart and a gruff exterior.  Her eye sight is dimming but she reads lips better than she actually hears.  She has killed a lot of bucks in her life.  Walked many miles in the mountains while taking cows to their summer supper place.  She's just a pretty good gal.  One of a kind for sure.

It was a very nice evening.  With the feeling of Fall in the air and lots of garden harvest to fill the table, we are a blessed family.  So blessed to have relatives and their feet under the table for dinner.

Thanks for dinner mom!  Thanks Easter Bunny.  Bock. Bock.