Required Reading

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Come see about me.

photo taken and shared with permission


"So come on hurry. 
Come on and see about me."

~ The Supremes

_____________________________

The eldest was in her late eighties. And to quote her baby sister, still "in her right mind." That baby sister let me know that she'll "make eighty" this year. "Brother," as they still called him, was there too. Even at just two weeks shy of his eighty-second birthday, as the only boy in a family full of girls, he never shook that nickname.

Two sisters and one brother were there at the bedside yesterday. There to "see about" their sister, who was being cared for on our hospital service. They called her "Sister" since she was the second girl to come along.

Sister is doing much better, so instead of slow singing and flower bringing, I got to laugh out loud and knee slap with Brother and his sisters. As all of us "saw about" my patient.

"You got kids?" Brother asked.

"Sir? I have two sons. Five and a half and seven."

"Brother, 'member how you always used to say 'and a half?'" The Baby Sister laughed.

"Shooooot. He still do!" The Eldest chimed in.

I loved their banter.

"What they doing for the summer?" Brother asked. "Them boys?"

"Actually, they spend a piece of the summer with their granddaddy every year. That's where they are now."

"Awwww, that's wonderful," Sister said from her hospital bed.

I thought about that word. Wonderful. It is wonderful. It sure is.

"And you know, your Pa don't live forever. So tha's good they get some time with they granddaddy like that." Baby Sister smiled in my direction after saying that.

That part made me bristle. I didn't like hearing anyone suggesting that my daddy is anything other than an immortal superhero. I sighed inward and spoke back to her, "Yes, ma'am. Daddy is sixty-eight so I know it's important to savor this time while it's here."

The room fell silent as we all took that in.

Finally brother scowled and said, "SIXTY-EIGHT? Awww hell! He ain't nothin' but a BABY!"

And they all erupted into eighty year-old laughter--all four of them. Knee slaps and all.

This, I liked. The knee slaps, the laughter, the all of it. And also the part about sixty-eight being a "baby" and laughable to suggest that it means you're in the home stretch.

"I loved, loved, loved talking to you all today," I said before leaving. "Thank you for making my day." And that is what I said verbatim because it was exactly how I felt.

"Thank you for coming to see about Sister, hear?" The Eldest spoke firmly.

"And thank you for making us proud, too," Brother said. Then he gave me what was quite possibly the warmest, richest smile that I've ever seen. The others joined right in--smiling at me like they really were proud. In that moment, I could see the striking resemblance between them.

The love in that room was suffocating. But in a good way.

*sigh*

Yep. This is Grady. The Grady I know.

***
Happy Thursday.

And now playing on my mental iPod. . . 

16 comments:

  1. Now that's a family. Still laughing together in their eighties. Love, love, love it!
    And I can't wait to hear reports from Grandpa Camp.

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    1. You would love those siblings. And would you believe that there was one more sister who was on the way?

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  2. The screen suddenly looks very blurry, I have to go find some tissue. Thank you for this uplifting post!

    I second Ms. Moon on the Camp Papa report.

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  3. Love the picture, the post, the Supremes.

    Love, love love that you share what you love about your Grady and your life with us, that you pay the love and the hope forward.

    xo

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    1. Isn't that photo great? And it is literally of the people I described. Sister is to the left, Elder Sister on top, Brother in the middle and Baby Sister at the bottom. Thanks for the kind words, Mel.

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  4. My siblings were in Atlanta for my daughter's wedding a couple of weeks ago--the five of us together, all with the same blue eyes, all with eerily similar hearty laughs. I felt in your description of these siblings what I felt in looking at mine--you know the totality of me and I of you as only your siblings and your parents can. For me that knowing is a bond and a treasure. The greatest gift you can give your child is a sibling and I see that in your boys...
    Love, Coach B

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    1. Coach B! I heard that the wedding was beautiful. So bummed I couldn't hear all about it in person at school. :) I can totally imagine you with your siblings, too. That's awesome that they were able to make it to J's wedding and especially that you were able to appreciate the fact that they did.
      Love to you, too!

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  5. Loved this post and all of the love in it! Made me smile like crazy, it did.

    I went to "see about" my Aunt Irene last week. She's 94 and still going fairly strong. Lives alone, but with one of her sons and his family next door to keep a close eye on her. She still gets up every morning and has breakfast on the table at 7:00 a.m. for her son and his wife and daughters and anyone else who wants to stop by and eat. Sausage, grits and gravy, eggs, homemade biscuits with butter and jam. How's she's lived (in good health) into her 90's is a mystery. But it might have something to do with all of the love in her life.

    I third (or more) the requests for reports from Camp Pa Pa. I have a lovely story about my own boys and their grandparents. I think I'll save that one for now though. *grins* Hope your young men and your dad have a great time together!

    Jae in Clayton, NC

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    1. Thanks Jae! I'm telling you. . . .there must be a blog in you! Sounds like you have some really interesting stories to share, too! :)

      Hugs to you and yours!

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  6. Yes that was such and uplifting story!! It also made me think of my parents own mortality. But I guess they are still babies!! :)

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  7. Sigh... I can only hope this will be me and my siblings in sixty-some-odd years. :)

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