"Lock the car!" She yelps, when I start to ascend the three step stoop to my grandma's front door. A double click to my fob and a beep from my vehicle puts her at rest.
"Hi Grandma," I say, as I walk into her house. Smells of fried fish fill my nose and pictures of Jesus surround my peripherals. "How was your day?"
"The same." She says, crestfallen. My grandfather passed away three years ago and she still has difficult days.
"At least it was sunny out today!" I announce, injecting my positivity into every crack of her home, hoping it will rub off.
"Are you hungry?"
I swear that should be her epitaph.
Those are always the first three words I hear whenever she first sees me. I know that idiom is often a staple "Foreign Grandma phrase," but trust me, this is her mantra.
"Yes I am starving." I watch her face light up when she hears my desire to consume her food.
"Good. Good." She then looks at me concerned, and says "I don't know if I make enough." As she uncovers three steaks, French fries, salad, chicken nuggets, and broccoli. Keep in mind, this is solely for her and I. "No Grandma, definitely not enough." I said, jokingly. Afterwards I try to reassure her that this is way too much food for the both of us, but I don't think she was listening...
As we eat, the pair of us chat about the gardening she did that day, how big her goldfish are getting (because she overfeeds them), and about my day at work. Before the first bite of meat hits my taste buds she says "For desert I can give you chocolate chip cookies. Ice Cream? Grapes? I have orange." It was like the command "to feed" was principally programmed into her genetic code.
We then retire to the living room so we can watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, part of her weeknight routine. I often answer a couple questions correctly, and although Alex Trebek would not be impressed, Grandma Maria always is. "You very smart!" She exclaims supportively.
My "Type A personality" was definitely inherited from my grandmother, as it is impossible for her to sit still. She has been that way as long as I can remember. I chuckle to myself as I imagine baby Grandma Maria ironing dress shirts in her bassinet. I joke, but she is one of the hardest workers I have ever witnessed, and by her nature, she never fails to remind me.
It's times like these that I'm reminded of how fortunate I am to create such funny and wonderful memories with her. My Grandma won't be around forever, and I need to cherish the time I spend with her. Hearing stories about her life in Portugal as a little girl, the anecdote of meeting my grandfather: Avó, and learn all I can, so I might have a green thumb someday, just like her.
Keeping her company is a small act of kindness for me, that means more than anything to her. Often spending the day with little to no company, coming over and watching television with her is more monumental that you can dream.
We'll be watching Wheel of Fortune, and she'll see hostess Vanna White's sparkling blue gown and say "This lady have a lot of dresses."
I still sit with her while she watches her Spanish Soap Operas, even when I don't understand the plot line. I usually just write, as I'm doing now, or read a book. Once I glanced up from my novel and saw some woman poisoning another woman's drink because as my Grandma explained "This lady steal the other girl boyfriend."
She is by far the cutest little old Portuguese lady I have and will ever meet.
I strongly encourage all grandchildren to reevaluate their priorities and add Spend time with Grandma to the top of that list. Everyone is "busy", but the minute you are "too busy" to spend time with your loved ones is the moment you have ranked something above your family.
"It's not about 'having' time, it's about making time."
Don't have that regret of "I wish I spent more time with my grandparents," later in life. Possess the great memories: laughing and talking with them right now.
