Happy Birthday Grandma Patty!

Today is my grandma's 87th birthday. 87! When I was little we would visit Grandma and Grandpa in Charleston, SC. They had three dogs - Rebel and Willie, the Weimeraners, and Pudge, a Pit Bull. Pudge was all black with a bald spot under her chin. I remember laying on an air mattress and looking up at Pudge (she would sit above my head) and petting her bald spot. I loved that dog! Most of my memories of their house involve the dogs. Rebel and Willie would sleep in the hallway, and when someone other than Grandma or Grandpa would open a bedroom door, they would raise such a ruckus! I was always scared they would forget we were supposed to be there and eat us. Later, Rebel and I became great friends :)

Grandma would take me to the Library whenever we went to visit. I would stock up on books, and made sure to get my favorite book every time - "Wacky Wednesday", by Dr. Suess. We would go for walks in the woods with the dogs each morning, and Grandpa would scare me with stories of man-killing ants and alligators that would eat you whole. I remember waking up to the smell of coffee. I loved that smell! Grandma let me taste once - not so good! It smells a lot better than it tastes :) I still love the smell of coffee, and I think of Grandma every time.

When I was about 8 or 9, Grandma and Grandpa were in a car accident on the way to our house for Christmas. Grandpa was paralyzed and sustained severe head injuries which resulted in permanent brain damage. They came to live in NC, Grandpa to a nursing home, and Grandma to our house. We were in the process of having a garage built, so the plans were altered and apartment was added above the garage for Grandma. Pudge was not allowed to come, our town had breed restrictions against Pit Bulls. She was left in SC with the vet. Rebel and Willie, and Grandma's blind cat moved in along with Grandma. (My brother shut the cat in the fridge once for 3 hours. He emerged mad, but non the worse for the experience) Willie developed a blood disease that resulted in him having to be put down soon after coming to NC. Rebel got along great with my best friend, our Cocker Spaniel, Scruffy. Soon, the three of us were inseparable. We would go for walks, me holding Rebel's leash, and Rebel holding Scruffy's leash in his mouth. The neighborhood bullies were scared of Rebel, so when they were giving me trouble I would threaten to sic Rebel on them, then would walk him by their houses later, to remind him just how big his teeth were :)

Mom had just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer about a year before Grandma moved in with us. Once her treatments began in earnest, Mom was too sick for our daily care. My older sisters were able to fend for themselves, Gregory and myself were left in Grandma's care. We learned our first curse words from Grandma. Gregory enjoyed shouting her favorite phrases during Sacrament Meeting. Every Saturday we would take the dogs to the park for an early run, and would stop at Dunkin' Donuts on the way home for a dozen assorted donuts. Grandma introduced me to the pleasures of cruellers and bear claws, still my favorites. She always got blueberry cake donuts for herself. Yuck.

Grandma gave me a little figurine of two bears. One was big, wearing an apron, the other was small, hugging the big one's knees. At the bottom it said "When Mama says no, ask Grandma". Boy was that true in our house!

Every summer we went to the beach, and Grandma taught me how to body surf. She said boogie boards were for babies. Can you imagine, a 75-year old woman body surfing in the Atlantic! What a hoot she was.

Years passed, Grandma rented a townhouse, then bought a house across town. I would ride my bike over sometimes, and she came over for dinner a lot, and vise-versa. When I was in high school, Grandma sold her house to my uncle, and she moved into an assisted living facility. She was still independent, just needed help with the day-to-day grunt work of housekeeping. I got a new dog, he peed on Dad's feet while I was at girl's camp, my new dog became Grandma's new dog (Rebel, Scruffy, and the blind cat had passed away). Grandma still has him. John and I got married and moved to Georgia, and after a while, Grandma got lonely. Since the maids weren't worth their weight in cleaning supplies, Grandma moved back into the apartment over the garage.

On our visits to NC, I noticed that Grandma wasn't quite right. Mom had noticed her memory going, but attributed it to Grandma getting old. Since I wasn't around every day, the change was more dramatic to me. Worried, I talked to Mom about it and she decided to have Grandma tested for Alzheimer's. Soon after, Grandma was diagnosed. Her decline in memory was speedy, until she was given a new medication. She continues to decline, but at a much slower rate. She maintains he sense of humor, and is unknowingly funny at times. When we visited from GA, grandma was convinced I was pregnant and would ask every 30 minutes or so when I was due. I tried to convince her I was not pregnant, but she wouldn't believe me. I remained pregnant to her the entire 2 1/2 years we lived in GA. When I finally did get pregnant, she didn't believe me, and would lecture me about my "weight gain". After Libby was born, it took Grandma to about 2 months to consistently remember she had a new grandchild, and over a year to remember that Libby was girl. Grandma would see me with Libby and say "who does that belong to?" Or when she would fuss at me for my weight, I would say "Grandma, I just had a baby 3 weeks ago". "What, you had a baby? When? Where is it?". Funny lady. When reminded that Libby was, in fact, a girl, she would say "Hers got a boy's haircut!"

When Grandma complains about her physical limitations, she says "At least I still have my mind". That makes us laugh every time.

Funny thing about this Alzheimer's is, the more she forgets about the present, the more the remembers about the past. John and I used to take her out to dinner and grill her about her youth. Sometimes, we got the scandalous stories, but most of them were just plain funny. She really is an amazing lady.

I will always be grateful to my Grandma for picking the cute little redhead with curls from the orphanage in Fussen, Germany, who became my mother. I will always be grateful for all the time Grandma spent caring for my brother and I, distracting our minds from the fact that our mommy was very, very sick. I will always be grateful for the memories, of walks in the woods, eating donuts, dinners out, and all the wonderful stories she has shared with me.

What an honor to be able to say:

HAPPY 87TH BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA!

Oh yeah, your card is in the mail!