Grandma White Hair

This is 'Grandma White Hair'....my dad's mom Betty. She picked up that nickname about 15 years ago when the little kids were trying to keep their two Pierson Grandma's separate.We had a chance to visit her while in Utah last week, she is 92 years old and sadly her mind is fading. My dad warned me on Father's Day that she has gotten Alzheimer's and would be moving from her little home into an assisted care facility. It was totally sad to see the changes in her. She has always been very independent (almost to a fault), she has been the lead singer of several (5) bands as I've mentioned here and has enough sequined vests to cloth the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I only see her every year or two, so of course she didn't remember me. She blamed it on my darker hair but that didn't make it any less sad....I was in tears with in the first minute and had to make several trips to the bathroom during our visit to cry my eyes out. I was a total mess! We were never super close, she's not that type of grandma but regardless of what kind of grandma she's been, it's still really hard to see her get old and change so much. I have such a soft spot for older people. I imagine them lonely, tired, sick, sore and frustrated...I sure hope it's not really that bad.

When we arrived, she was outside confronting the mail man as to why he stopped bringing her mail. He told her it had been forwarded to her kids, which was followed by her saying she's going to "chew them out". As we sat and talked, she mentioned (over and over lol) that she no longer drives and recently sold her car to the nicest man from her church. She also told us repeatedly that her kids are moving her to a new home and she's not happy about it. Grandma White Hair also managed to offend nearly all of us before it was time to go, but not really though because we all know she doesn't know what she's saying. I wish I lived closer so I could help keep her company but I'm glad my brother Joe and his wife Amy do a good job at keeping an eye on her.

Living out here in Arizona without any kind of elderly for my kids has been kind of a bummer...not that Arizona is lacking in the elderly department, but for some reason we hadn't come across any living in my area. As a child I had the opportunity to serve several different elderly people and really enjoyed it. I think it's so important and want to instill that in my kids, so last year we were in the parking lot and I finally spotted an older man...he looked ancient. I jumped out of my car and waived him down. He pulled over (probably shouldn't have been driving), and rolled down his window. I asked him if there was anything we could do to help him out like yard work, grocery shopping etc. Unfortunataley, he acted offended and told me he's just fine. I'm sure he either thought I was a nut, or didn't want to believe he'd gotten to the point where he could use some assistance.

Luckily, this year my boys will have the chance to sing to the elderly with their home school choir group...they'll be making the rounds to local nursing homes and hopefully we can adopt one we meet. 

Some things I've learned from my Grandma Betty...

1. Stay active in your older years.

2. Have hobbies and skills that bring you joy.

3. Share your talents with others -Grandma Betty has many talents, not only does she play several instruments and sing, she also writes poems and is a fabulous gardener. 

4. How to pinch pennies & never waist - About 13 years ago I picked her and my parents up at the Salt Lake Airport. They were returning from a trip to Hawaii. As I was looking for her luggage, she motioned to her purse and said she was going to finish her steak when she got home. I knew they didn't server her steak on the airplane, and the flight was a good 6 hours. I said, "Grandma what are you talking about?" She told me she had wrapped up her left over steak (from the night before) in a napkin and put it in her purse for later. Then there was the time she gave me a funny gift for my 23rd birthday...an already opened roll of film w/ the box scotch taped back together and wrapped in toilet paper. :) Oh geez, I guess that's what living through the depression will do to you!