Venerable (Continued)

So in keeping with the pledge I made to myself to see my mother more often, I drove up to see her yesterday, accompanied by Wifey. We took her to a bank, where her questions to the befuddled teller about Mom's own ledger system led the teller to whisper to me "It's good you've taken over her finances." After that, we went to lunch at "Ben's Bagels and Beyond." Wifey ordered the "Beyond," and it came well cooked and delicious.

We were thrilled to see how Mom was doing. She was walking better, though still with a cane, and her mood was excellent. The depression that was creeping in several months ago has lifted (Thanks Zoloft!), and it was actually a fun visit.

Wifey interviewed her about her early years and her family, and I actually learned things I never knew. Wifey asked if Mom's father was a lot like her deceased brother Marty, and Mom said "Oh no, Marty was much smarter." I told Mom that using her brother being smart was like being declared the tallest of midgets, and we all shared a big laugh.

She's really blessed, that lady. She still treats each day as a gift. She lives on an income well below the poverty level, and yet feels rich. I pointed out to her that her condo, purchased in 1979 for $39K and now worth maybe $70K has actually LOST value, when adjusted for inflation. Mom thinks that's crazy --her condo has been her home and haven for 3 decades, and to her, it's the best investment my father ever made.

Afterwards, Wifey and I drove up to a housing development off of US 441 and Boynton Beach Blvd --a huge place carved out of the Everglades, it seemed. Wifey's FSU friend Faye was visiting from Pensacola, to bury her mother, who died at 95. Faye's sister lives in Palm Beach County.

I knew about Faye, but never met her. She and her husband Chip are delightful folks. Chip's a Pensacola native who took over his father's glass business after realizing his Masters in Counseling from FSU wasn't the career path he wanted. Faye's a New Yorker who moved to Florida like I did, right after graduating high school in Queens, to be close to her Holocaust Survivor parents. She ended up at FSU where she found the other Survivor child, Wifey.

Faye and Chip have 2 girls very much like D1 and D2, and they were in for the funeral. The older one is a lawyer in Memphis, and the younger in grad school at UCF. They were putting together old photos of their grandmother, who they truly missed. You could tell that Faye's mother had a great post War life, and was greatly loved by her family.

We left, and Wifey was asleep when we got on the Turnpike, so the whole way home I reflected on the very old. I guess as long as they have their family's love, the physical ravages of aging are tolerable.

Rock on, Grandma Sunny!