Out of the Mouths of [90-Year Old] Babes

My 89-year old grandmother and 90-year old great aunt came to visit us on Cape Cod for Thanksgiving. As I mentioned last week, they wanted to come visit us (as opposed to us traveling to them) in order to see our house and to see Charlie Mae "in her natural habitat." We were beyond touched. 

So, my dad flew up with them on Tuesday and they stayed until Saturday. We had a lovely visit despite Charlie Mae getting sick, and it felt *SO* special to be able to host these two amazing women at our house--especially since my grandmother had a serious fall resulting in two serious surgeries on her hip earlier this year and we weren't sure she would be traveling again anytime soon (or ever).

But of course my grandmother rallied, as she always does, and since her sister--my great aunt--is still zipping around like an antelope (even though she's going to be 91 in February!!!), they were up for the trip.

All of that being said,  I wrote down some quotes from their visit that I felt needed to be shared/memorialized for all of time in order to capture these two feisty sisters at this point in their lives...

Scene: It's 8:15pm at night on Tuesday. My grandmother and great aunt have just walked in my front door after 9 hours of travel from Atlanta to Cape Cod.
Me: "Can I get either of you anything? Bathroom, water, alcohol?"
My Grandmother: "Just alcohol."
My Great Aunt: "Yes, just alcohol."

Me: "Everyone has been amazed when I tell them that you two are making the trek up here to see us."
My Great Aunt: "Well then they don't know us. When your dad asked if we wanted to go to Cape Cod my only question was 'when?'"

Scene: We'd been having a discussion about Ben's work in the DA's office and drug offenders, which then led to a discussion about marijuana being legal in Massachusetts.
My Grandmother: "Well I smoked marijuana once a few years ago and it made me think that everything was wonderful and beautiful. I liked it. I don't see anything wrong with it."

Scene: My dad is taking my grandmother and great aunt home to their hotel for the evening. He tells them how lucky they are to get to see the fourth generation of their family [Charlie Mae]...
My Dad (who was much older than my grandmother was when he had us): "It's sad because I’ll never be able to see Charlie Mae grow up and have a child."  
My Grandmother: "Maybe Charlie Mae will run away and get married at sixteen!"

Scene: My grandmother pulls out her e-cigarette [her newest addiction despite being a non-smoker for almost 20 years before discovering it] and says:
"Have you seen my e-cigarette? I love it so much. But they wouldn't let me smoke it on the plane. I have no idea why. They said if they see any smoke they'll charge you $200, so I didn't take any chances."  

Scene: My dad is driving my grandmother and great aunt through a beautiful, wealthy, summery area of the Cape and showing them the gorgeous houses.
My Great Aunt: “I could be a really good rich person.”

Scene: We've just finished a delicious dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants, which serves what I would call normal portion sizes. My grandmother and great aunt are both tiny and eat like birds.
My Grandmother: "This portion size is enormous. I don't know how anyone could eat this entire thing."
Me: "I'm sure that many people eat that entire dish all the time."
My Grandmother: "They must all be fat."
My Great Aunt: "Portion sizes have gotten out of control in this country. Every time my friends and I go out to eat we all talk about how big the meals are. We think it should be illegal to make portion sizes as big as they do now."
Me:  ...  [Thinking about how I'm almost always a member of the Clean Plate Club when I go out to eat.]

Can you stand them? I can't get enough! I only hope that I'm that sassy, independent, and adventurous at 89 or 90.

And on top of all of these witty + hysterical comments, my grandmother and great aunt were just oozing love for me, Ben, and Charlie Mae while in town. My dad has taken to calling my grandmother "a fountain of love," and it's true; her affection for her family is endless and I feel so lucky to be one of the recipients. 

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!