date with grandma

i went up to visit my grandma yesterday.  it's been awhile since i last saw her, and a visit was long overdue.    now that my parents are in asia, i feel an added responsibility to care and love her even the more.  not that anyone has said i need to.. and my parents, living still quite a distance from her, didn't see her all that much, but, but i guess i've always had a heart for the lonely... for the elderly... and, well, she's my grandma.  she even mentioned that now that my parents are away, it feels like someone is missing, even though they are only a phonecall away.  anyways...

first on our agenda, she asked if i could take her to visit her friend and drop off some home cooked food she made for her.  i truly was touched by my 87 year old grandmom's heart.  her friend that she met at a senior day care center is only in her 60s, but was caught in gunfire and was paralyzed from the waist down nearly 30 years ago.  she has a husband and 2 kids, but it sounds like they are all not very close to her.  in fact, she actually lives by herself in a low-income, senior citizen community.

despite the age gap, they are like "2 peas in a pod".  i felt so blessed to be able to finally meet her, and she seemed happy to finally meet me after all these years.  like any older asian person, she insisted on giving me things... like trident gum packs and reeses cups and random snacks... many of which my own grandmother bought for her at her request.  such an interesting relationship.  usually, it's my aunt/uncle. my parents, or me taking her to buy things for her.  sometimes we just bring it over to her house, and other times, we'll take her shopping to buy what she needs.  my grandma is very independent, so she will take public transportation out on her own to the grocery store or to the mall to wander and buy things, but sometimes bigger, heavier things she needs to rely on others for.   but seeing her take on that role to buy things for her friend that she cannot get on her own because of her health and the challenges of navigating the wheelchair... was just such an image of God's love being poured out through His children, as helpless and needy as we can be in other areas.  my grandma lives simply and has bad knees, suffers from a handful of medical issues, and cannot get around very well, yet her heart is filled with compassion towards this friend and does whatever she can to help.  He places people in our lives to love, to serve, to give what we can.  I was so blessed to see my grandma do this.  Praying that this lady comes to know the God that my grandma and I love and serve and praise.

afterwards, we headed to palisades mall to wander around and eat.  she wanted to go lingerie shopping... not quite what i had thought we'd do, but if i don't take her, than who will.  she does take public transport to the mall by herself sometimes, but she wouldn't know where to look or how to buy the specific things she's looking for.  and she's got 4 sons, and it's not really something you ask your son to help you with...  so i was happy to take her lingerie shopping...  we ended up just eating in the food court.. more options, easier for 2 people...  i wanted to take her to get a manicure together (we did that a few years ago on a date) but she insisted against it.  she's a saver, you see, and with no upcoming occasions, no matter how cheap it might be, she said no.  and as i pleaded one more time, she said, "God wouldn't want us to waste money."  Amen grandma.  that closed that deal.  we continued wandering around the mall and then went back to her place.  Dropped her off and then headed back to my parents house and then home to philly.

fun times with grandma.