I'm Here.

My dad’s 90-year-old mother and my 63-year-old mother.

We were walking my grandma back to her room at the assisted living facility and when I turned to see if I had walked too far ahead, I saw this. All at once cute and sad, but mostly amazing — we live in a time where simple procedures and simple devices plus legally-sanctioned building accessibility make for quite an increase in quality of life.

Grandma has a walker because she’s legally blind and prone to falls. Mom has a walker because she is recovering from last month’s hip replacement, after stubbornly limping around with arthritis pain for a few years. She graduates to a cane this week, and should be driving again in a few more weeks.

During my visit I was her personal assistant, chauffeur and swimming exercise buddy. It didn’t allow too much time for socializing, but I managed to squeeze in a couple quick dates for coffee or lunch instead of sitting and knitting in a waiting room for an hour or two.

It sounds boring on paper but it was a fun visit, and went by a little too fast. My parents, brother & sister-in-law and I had a difficult time saying goodbye. That doesn’t normally happen, but I’ll be in Asia during Thanksgiving and don’t yet know whether I’m making it back for holidays and that’s a little tough for everyone right now.