My step-grandmother recently turned 100. How amazing is that? She has seen the Great Depression, two World Wars, computers, sliced bread, cell phones, TV, and both the discovery and loss of Pluto as a planet during her life. What a journey!
I don’t know if I want to spend that much time on our Earth rock, but she has certainly had a great time.
The past ten years she has been in a retirement home. Since she is less mobile, she doesn’t get to come to many family events, which means it’s been almost five years since I’ve seen her. I knew for her big birthday shindig I had to make it down, though. I mean, it had been forever, and it’s such a huge milestone.
Also, Gramma C (as she likes to be called) and I were pretty tight when I was growing up.
My mom got remarried to my stepdad when I was about eleven. They were newlyweds and liked to travel, so they often took trips by themselves, which meant that I needed a chaperone.
During these periods, I always got passed around to the different grandmothers. My mom’s mom, my dad’s mom, and Gramma C were all in the rotation for at least a couple days.
I, of course, knew what to expect from my paternal and maternal grandmothers. There would always be movie rentals, Nick at Night, game shows, trips to Wal-Mart, and my fave childhood staples: Raisin Brain, Reese’s Peanut Cups, and mac n’ cheese.
But Gramma C was different. She was not like my other grandmothers, she acted… well, much younger (hence, I think why she is still trucking at 100).
She’d always come over with her sister Ruth, who was just as down for a good time as she was. They did not sit still for a single second.
While my mom’s mom would clean the house and mop the floors while I was at school, Ruth and Gramma C would be ladies about town. They’d go to the mall, drive around Springfield, and find things to do.
When I was twelve, they took me to see The Thomas Crown Affair. Correct. The movie with the full-frontal nudity scenes. Gramma C, did not care at all, she roared with laughter when the screen had five-foot tall boobs on it. As I turned red and slunk down in my seat, she slapped Ruth on the shoulder and goes, “Isn’t that crazy!”
At night, we’d all sit around the dining room table and play a game they called “What the Hell”, which is a bit like Euchre. Sometimes we’d play for 2-3 hours at a time.
I’ll never forget the night we were playing the game and Bill Clinton was giving one of his State of the Union addresses. Gramma C and Ruth were MOONING over him.
“Isn’t he handsome?”
“And smart!”
“I just love his speeches.”
For Gramma and Ruth, age didn’t matter – they just went and did. They talked about cute boys, played cards, and had wine coolers with dinner.
At my stepbrother’s wedding, they both had a few glasses of wine and some martinis. This led to Ruth picking me up and swinging me around as Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” played. (At this point, I was nineteen and 180 pounds… This did not stop Aunt Ruth.)
“A ring of fire, Teddy Boy! A Ring of Fire!”
One of my top 10 memories of all time.
All this is to say that if anyone in my life was going to make it to 100, it was going to be Gramma C. People may give a lot of advice on how to live a long time, but, after spending most of my life with Gramma, I can say that it’s really just the drive to have fun: You’ll know 100 is very doable when you can sit in a room with a wine cooler and a video of a Bill Clinton speech and have the time of your life.
And with that, I gotta say cheers to Gramma. We’re still having a great time with her, but I bet Ruth is waiting on the other side with a deck of cards and a radio playing Johnny Cash’s greatest hits. I think she’s been with us so long because I don’t know if heaven is ready for that reunion. It’s going to be one “What the Hell” of a good time.