While using Facebook has its drawbacks, I experienced one of it’s beautiful qualities this week. Simultaneously, there were two conversations going between the cousins on my mom’s side and those on my dad’s side, both about my respective grandmas. It was sweet to reminisce with cousins around the country about times – and grandmas – long gone.

This week, the Daily Post Challenge is to “…practice your powers of observation. Take any person, place, or event, and write three paragraphs describing your subject in great detail.”  Together, Facebook and WordPress have inspired this reflection on my Grandma Jeanne.

……….

S-A-I-N-T  L-O-U-I-S   Z-O-O. What does that spell, grandma? “St. Louis zoo.”

I sighed and sank onto the park bench, the peeling paint tickling the backs of my thighs and the heat of the late afternoon sun burning the back of my neck. My feet dangled, swung back and forth; hers rested on the hot concrete.  My plastic jellies glittered purple; her toes sparkled bright pink beneath rainbow straps on her sandals. My hand-me-down cut-offs and strawberry shortcake t-shirt evidenced the end of a long summer day, her denim skirt and pale blouse stood impervious to the heat and humidity. My small hand found hers and our fingers interlaced.  I twirled her thick wedding band around her finger, wondering aloud when the sea lion show would be over.

“Pretty soon, I would think” she murmured. I sighed again. She angled her arm so that I could snuggle in close. I tucked my legs underneath me and leaned to trace the lines in the dark denim on her skirt. “How come you didn’t want to see the show, with everyone else?” I shrugged. What could I say? With the afternoon heat ebbing away slowly, with me nestled snugly against her side, with no siblings or cousins to interrupt a moment’s bliss, my heart sang happy.  She slowly drew my thin bangs away from my eyes, letting her finger linger across my brow. “We’ll, I’m glad. Do you want some ice cream?”