closed, sick, tired, thrilled with $3.41

back in york, pa

Today started out uneventful enough. Get up, coffee, read the paper (it's a really bad one), breakfast. A little housework. Some weeding. Made lunch for Grandma and myself.

Our plan for the day was to go to the library, visit a friend at a nursing home in Lancaster, then go to my cousins' house for dinner.

First, Grandma got really irritated when i asked her if the library was open today before we left. So she was even more irritated to learn that the library was closed due to government cut backs. (We'll go back there tomorrow.)

Then, when we got to her friend's nursing home, which by the way, was a mr toad's wild ride of a navigation adventure. At one point i reminded grandma that i had no idea where we were going because i had never been there. Luckily i managed to get us there in one piece.

Unfortunately, when we got there Grandma wasn't too happy with what she saw. Her friend was not up or dressed – she was in bed, had oxygen tubes in her nose and was very sick. Turns out she was on antibiotics, recovering from pneumonia – and she's been sick for about 2 weeks. The latest part of being sick was refusing to eat.

Grandma had been trying to call her for the past couple of days, but only trying her bedside phone. I asked her if she wanted to call the front desk or nurse's station but she said no. So seeing her friend so sick was quite upsetting.

Her friend perked up a bit once we started talking and seemed to be a bit livelier by the time we left. She told me i looked heavier than the last time she saw me (I was about 25 at the time) and called me a gold digger since she liked my wedding and engagement rings. I got her to eat a little ice cream, ½ of an animal cracker and she drank some water, ice tea and ensure.

Also turns out that the phone wasn't working. I put the plug back in the jack and talked to the front desk people about fixing the jack since it was so loose. By the time we left, Grandma was feeling pretty upset.

So then, we drove to my cousins' – another place that Grandma hasn't been too many times and really doesn't know how to get there. I had directions so i just drove.

I had a great time there. I talked to my cousin's wife, played with his two little boys, chatted with my cousin who's in the navy and had a good old time.

The little boys were tickled that i brought them each a tooney, a looney, a quarter, a dime, a nickel and a penny (that's $3.41) and a baggie of swedish fish. They really enjoyed learning about he coins – they may be coming with their new baby brother or sister next summer.

As the evening progressed i could see 1) grandma was tired, 2) grandma was having trouble hearing what was going on, and 3) grandma was upset with my cousin who's in the navy – his talk about partying, a new tattoo (he already is the most decorated member of the family with his five tattoos) and smoking wasn't working for her at all.

But she enjoyed the company, seeing her great-grandchildren and eating a nice meal. One of the great-grandchildren entertained us by playing the piano and singing the solo he's singing in church this Sunday. We took plenty of photos and I've already downloaded them and added them to the book i'm making for her.

I know Grandma also enjoyed the homemade blueberry pie and the treats that my cousin packed up for her – freshly picked blueberries, zucchini bread and a zucchini.

We had a nice chat in the car, made good time getting home and got here by 9:30. Grandma went to bed, I talked to the husband, who is having a hard time with me being away. The bulldog seems to be pretty happy about it – she's slumbering peacefully in my spot.