A telemarketer called. I don’t know what he wanted. I didn’t hang up on him. I just put the phone down, got up, fixed lunch, hung out laundry, and then came back half an hour later. He wasn’t there any more. I put the phone back on the receiver. My grandmother seemed determined to sleepContinue reading “On Saturday Musings”
Tag Archives: grandmother
On Watches, Faucets, and Headaches
A year ago, I discovered that Underground Toys was producing a replica of the Doctor’s fobwatch from the “Human Nature”/”Family of Blood” two-parter of Doctor Who‘s third season. While I sort of wanted one, it wasn’t high on my list of priorities. Unlike The Journal of Impossible Things, which I instantly wanted, and I’m nowContinue reading “On Watches, Faucets, and Headaches”
On the Mop
Saturday was a rough day with my grandmother. However, I’ve not told the story of Saturday night. As mentioned previously, I went to Big Lots Saturday night, for no particular reason except that I could. And there’s a liquor store in that shopping center, and since I had no beer in the refrigerator, I couldContinue reading “On the Mop”
On My Grandmother’s Latest
Today, I wondered for the first time who my grandmother thought I was. I’d gone into the kitchen to fix some lunch. I wasn’t sure what I wanted; I would scavenge in the refrigerator until something promising came to the fore. My grandmother was in the kitchen. When she’s upset, she tends to wander nervously.Continue reading “On My Grandmother’s Latest”
On My Grandmother and Grief
I read Slate pretty much every day. Well, when I type “read,” I mean I scan the headlines, and if something pops up that looks promising, I’ll take a look. I saw a headline today — “What Americans Don’t Understand About Grief.” It’s a series of articles, beginning back in February, in which Meghan O’RourkeContinue reading “On My Grandmother and Grief”
On Missing Lids
The lid to the peanut butter jar is missing. At 10:15 this morning, while fixing a cup of coffee, I saw on the kitchen counter the jar of peanut butter. Lidless. It is a new jar, I opened it yesterday when fixing peanut butter-and-banana sandwiches for lunch. A survey of the kitchen counter revealed noContinue reading “On Missing Lids”
On My Grandmother’s Quirks
The sun had gone down. My grandmother stood at the window in the dining room, looking out into the backyard, transfixed by the sight while she giggled. “The President’s plane is about to take off!” I didn’t have to look outside to know that there was no plane in the backyard. She was seeing theContinue reading “On My Grandmother’s Quirks”
On Longer Days
For a few months now, my grandmother has expressed confusion at dinner time. It’s dark outside. And in her mind, we shouldn’t eat dinner when it’s dark. Dark, to her, means breakfast. Since it’s dark, the meal must be breakfast, even if it’s not remotely breakfast-like. Surely there must be a time change at hand,Continue reading “On Longer Days”
On Evening Conversations
My grandmother was taking a nap. Dinner was ready. I needed to wake her. She was on the couch. I shook her foot, and she let out a ooh! of surprise. “Dinner’s ready,” I said. “You mean breakfast,” she said. “No, dinner.” “It’s dark,” she said. “Of course it’s dark. It’s dinner time.” “We justContinue reading “On Evening Conversations”
On the Stairwell Light
In the stairwell that leads upstairs there are two lights, one at the bottom and one at the top. Top and bottom both have lightswitches. The lightswitch at the top is older, and it mades a loud clank! when it’s thrown. The lightswitch at the bottom is newer and, thus, quieter. About a year ago,Continue reading “On the Stairwell Light”