Old is a 4-Letter Word

“Hey, Granny,” Henry called from the living room.

She went to the door. “Yes?”    

“What are we having for supper?”        

She gave him a cool, deliberate stare. “I don’t know what you’re having, but I think I’ll have a filet mignon with a fresh green salad.”

Henry frowned. “If you’re having it, how come we’re not having it?”

“Because I’m going to dinner with my boy friend and I don’t think you’re invited.”

“You’re kidding, of course.”

“Why would I be kidding?” She smiled inside, knowing Henry and Edgar were probably taking a second look at her.

“But Grandma,” Edgar blurted out,  “Women your age don’t have boyfriends.”

She laughed out loud. “What do you know about women my age? We do all sorts of things you don’t think we can do.” She grinned a lopsided grin, knowing they would take her words the wrong way.

“What will Karen think?” Edgar didn’t want the responsibility for this new facet of Grandma.

“Don’t be stupid,” Henry said. “She’s pulling our leg. She doesn’t mean it.”

“Well, come to dinner tonight with granny and her friend and find out.”

“Uh, I don’t know. We better eat soon. We have a late tee-off time. We might not be back until after eight.”  Henry was backing down.

***

I don’t understand how you can approve of her running away.”

“I don’t think she is running away. I think she’s running to, and I’m glad.”  Annaliz threw out her arms in a happy gesture. “I want her to have a little fun while she’s young enough to enjoy it.”

“And just what is your definition of fun?” Karen had folded her arms across her chest. “You’re always using that word. None of the older people in our family say they have fun. Every woman I know, your age, is planning her funeral.”

She stomped her foot and rushed on.  “It’s just plain silly. At your age you should be thinking of more serious things. You keep saying, ‘Have fun.’ I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, Karen, that’s because you’ve never allowed yourself to have any. Fun is what gets you out of your rut.

Fun is laughter, belly laughter; something to bring tears to your eyes and gaiety to your heart. It’s doing something different than you did yesterday, something that turns you on, as the kids would say.”

She continued. “It’s watching in awe as the sun goes down. It’s sharing a moment of laughter with someone you care about. It’s smiling at nothing and everything. It’s making new friends and yes, it’s attempting to absorb new cultures.”

She paused for breath. Karen had turned her head away, but Morgan was smiling and wiping tears from her eyes. “I could go on, but you know what I mean. Fun means to be aware, to live each moment as though it may be your last, to appreciate all the wonders waiting for you out there, and there are always new wonders, if you look for them.”

Annaliz shook her head. “Fun is to really see your world in a new light every day. Have you ever tried that?  Someone said, ‘Art is in the details’, and I know many people who can’t grasp such a concept: people who live in the world without ever noticing it. Well, I’m not one of them and I don’t think Morgan is either.”

Morgan yelled, “Yeah! Grandma. Let’s go get high.”

Annaliz laughed until she cried, then said,  “If you’re living life to the fullest there’s no need for another kind of high.”