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I love three day
weekends!  We didn’t do much of anything, but I feel rested and
ready to return to work.  Well, my planning isn’t done, but I’m
psychologically ready. 

I cleaned my closet and a chest of drawers today, and Toshi and I made
a trip to Goodwill to drop off five bags of stuff.  Such a good
feeling … and I can now easily open and close all of the drawers in
my dresser.  Yes, simple pleasures …

I
did spend much of my time in my den this weekend; however, the book
never made it off the bedside table.  My closet is in my den, so I
was hunkered down in there sorting through clothing from the dark
ages. 

My
den is my haven.  It contains all of my favorite things … my
first grown-up furniture, my China library, my grandpa’s hat, my
grandma’s Chinese gongs, a doll bed my mom passed down to me from when
she was little, an antique Chinese puppet that Yang acquired from a
relative and sent to spend his retirement in California with me, and
the cabinet above.  If you look closely, you will see that the
cabinet is actually a dollhouse.  It was my grandmother’s, and she
and I used to spend hours together playing with it.  It is one of
my most precious possessions. 

So,
anyway, my closet had vomitted its contents all over the den; now that
everything has a place again, I can cocoon myself in there again and
enjoy some peace.

I received a call last night from Anita, my former neighbor.  She
received our Valentine package, and yes, she very much appreciated the
hunk on the Abercrombie bag.    Anita is a wild
thing.  Since the last time we saw her about a month ago, she
dumped her boyfriend and already found a new one.  Sheesh! 
It turns out that Albert, her previous beau, was the only one in the
retirement complex who could walk without a cane and he let it go to
his head and was behaving as though he were God’s gift to women. 
  I only hope that if I make it to 89 I have half the energy
and humor that Anita has.



Whenever I go to visit Anita, I am reminded of this story that I first
read years ago.  I used to have my students read it, but it
somehow got lost in the shuffle these past few years.  I think
I’ll take it to school tomorrow to share with the kids … such an
important message.

It Was Grandfather’s Birthday …

It was Grandfather’s birthday. He was 79. He got up early,
shaved, showered, combed his hair and put on his Sunday best so
he would look nice when they came.

He skipped his daily walk to town where he had coffee with his
cronies. He wanted to be home when they came.

He put his porch chair on the sidewalk so he could get a
better view of the street when they drove up to help celebrate
his birthday.

At noon, he got tired but decided to forgo his nap so he would
be there when they came. Most of the rest of the afternoon he
spent near the telephone so he could answer it when they called.

He has five married children, 13 grandchildren and 3
great-grandchildren. One son and daughter live within 10 miles of
his place. They haven’t visited him for a long time. But today is
his birthday, and they are sure to come.

At supper time, he left the cake untouched so they could cut
it and have dessert with him. After supper, he sat on the porch
waiting.

At 8:30, he went to his room to prepare for bed. Before
retiring, he left a note on the door that read, “Be sure to
wake me up when they come.”

It was Grandfather’s birthday. He was 79. But nobody called.
And nobody came.

5 thoughts on “”

  1. I think a field trip to the old folks home may be in order. Teach the kids old American folks songs like Home on the Range and America the Beautiful. Lord knows that both groups would just love the heck out of it and appreciate all the trouble it would take. I took my 18 member girl scout troop to the old folks home and we spent an afternoon planting baby trees and visiting. I don’t know what the kids thought but the old people adored seeing all those 3rd grade girls running around giggling and singing and just being little girls.Spring must be in the air because I spent time cleaning out a few things as well. (Did I mention I normally don’t do that?)

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  2. i have always thought to live that long and what if no one calls and nobody came to see me….ahh life is sweet and sad …glad you had an inspiring cleaning moment….i have cleared away all my life and nothing much stands now but a few things…and so my day off was in writing..have today and wednesday off so hmm lets see what i can do…get my hair done for starting of new job ?  go take my taxes to be done….next year i am going back to doing them myself..and hmm just laying here conemplating my navel…well someone should do that …lol stay warm and keep love around  you ….say hello to Toshi for me…i think he is like a slinky ….that is why you could not lend him out…no matter if you get mad or tired or want some space..there he will be …bing… right there with you….smile and be happy….<3

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  3. thankfully nothing is broken…my body isn’t as flexible as it used to be…my grandma would tackle me if she heard me say that…haha…=P
    Anita, what a sweet old lady…=)

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