Category: general

“How many are you?” Maga asked.

“9.”

“Now that’s a big happy group.”

“It is indeed.”

“The holidays are a good time for families to get together.”

“That they are. And what did Santa bring you?”

“Presents, candy, perfume, the usual.”

I knew my parents had given her an unusual technological gift, and so, yes, I was fishing for information because we hadn’t had a proper chance to talk the day before. Maga’s omission of that gift spoke volumes and yet was 100% not surprising given her age and disinterest in all things technology. Plus, I’d seen her reaction and confusion to it the day before / the way her 10yo great-grandson explained it with ease.

I reeled in the hard questions and allowed her to direct the conversation back to the weather and how many family members I was surrounded by.

“I wish you luck and success,” Maga said as we wrapped up the conversation with talk of the new year.

“I wish you love and good health,” I replied.

“Excuse me.” Maga’s words were muffled by the food in her mouth. “I shouldn’t be eating this gooey thing while talking to you, but it’s so delicious.”

“What are you eating?”

“Something your mother sent me, I think.”

“Cookies?”

“No. Chocolate covered strawberries.”

“You do love your sweets.”

“I always have.”

Her obvious enjoyment outweighed the garbled words. Is this what things sound like to her when she doesn’t have her hearing aids in?

“I think your mother sent these.”

“She might have. She was just there.”

“Chocolate covered strawberries. Is this something she’d send?”

“It does sound like her, yes. It’s probably an early Valentine’s treat.”

“Did I send you a Valentine?”

“You did. I have it right here in my hands. I haven’t opened it yet. I’m saving it for tomorrow.”

“Don’t open it yet,” she said at the same time as me. “Save it for tomorrow.”

Looks like I inherited my sweet tooth and patience from her!

“How are things at the house?” Maga asked.

“Very busy, but in a good way.”

“What are the ages of [Sister J’s] kids again?”

“7.5, 5.5, and 2.5.”

“Oh my. That is busy indeed. My kids were a bit more spaced out.”

“What are the age ranges?”

“C and J are 3 years apart. J and D are 3.5 years apart. And D and T are 4.5 years apart, so it wasn’t too crowded all at once.”

“Both sets have their advantages. And how was your Christmas?”

“It was okay. J and P came by for lunch. The food wasn’t anything special. And the day before S and F took me out to dinner.”

“S is Aunt J’s friend, right?”

“Yes. They are one day apart.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Fairly early on, I saw S’s mother and I said to her, ‘You look like I feel’ and she admitted she was pregnant.”

As I pondered the ways women shared pregnancy news sans social media, Maga continued her story. “She went into the hospital and when I went the next day, I ran into her room and said, “I’m here. Let’s see what happens.”

What happened was a lifetime of friendship between mothers and daughters. So much so that they are still spending holidays together. It’s a lovely blurry line between family and friends.

“Are you on your [family trip]?” Maga asked. 

“Yup. All 14 of us are in one house!”

“Wow. How did we get such a big family?”

“You and Jobo started it off right.”

“I suppose we did. I am jealous of you all there together but I guess my traveling days are done.”

“You sure made good use of them when you were able to travel.”

“What’s the weather like there?”

“Scorching hot and one million percent humidity.”

“The beach is good then?”

“Perfect,” I said. “What have you been up to lately?”

“I’m watching Wimbeldon. There’s a TV in a main room so we went down there to watch a match.”

“I love Wimbledon! Did you see the marathon match that Nadal lost?”

“It was on more than yesterday?”

“Oh, yes. It’s at least a week. There are many rounds.”

“Have you been watching?”

“Normally yes but this year I’ve just been reading articles. Did you and Jobo ever make it there during your travel years?”

“You know, we didn’t. It’s one of the few places we didn’t get to go and I would have loved it. It’s so interesting watching all those professional players and seeing what they’re capable of. Or not.”

My mind immediately traveled to the daily beach/pool games + nightly board/card games and thought that amateurs playing games is pretty fun to experience too.