“Hi Maga. It’s Abby. How are you?”
“I’m doing pretty good for an old lady. I’m still here, so that’s something.”
“Indeed.”
“How was your evening?”
“Fun. I was out to dinner with some friends and we played a game called trivia.”
*commence me explaining Trivia no less than 5 times*
“And how did you do?” Maga asked.
“We got third place.”
“Oh, that’s not bad.”
“We were quite pleased. And how was your night?”
“Well, when you get to be 96, you don’t go out galavanting much. I had my good times when they were there, but now I’ve earned a rest.”
“That you have.”
“Do you have any other trips planned?”
“Just to Mom/Dad’s for Thanksgiving. My wallet’s a bit overtaxed at the moment.”
“Will you do the full turkey and everything?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure. It’s just four of us, so we might not do a big whole turkey. It’s under negotiation.”
“But leftover are always nice to have.”
“True. And you know what? As much as I love the big Thanksgiving meal, my favorite is actually Friday at lunch when my dad makes turkey sandwiches.”
“Oh, he does? I didn’t realized he’s the culinary sort.”
“He’s always had a few specialities – turkey sandwiches being one of them – but he’s getting quite dishes under his belt now.”
“I guess now that he’s retired he has time to develop those skills.”
It has been interesting watching my dad evolve over this past year and change since retirement. I’d say he’s doing even more galavanting than ever before, but that also might be because his four children are spread across the US and we’ve been keeping him busier than a full time job. Not to mention the time he’s spent developing said culinary skills. Maga may be resting during these later years of retirement, but in this category of early retirement, my dad is going full steam ahead.
(P.S. It’s an interesting phone call that talking to your mother’s mother can make you think more deeply about your father.)
Abigail Mumford 