elsie payne, my grandmother on my dads side. the only grandparent i have left, she is one hundred and one years old and still living through shear stubbornness. a lady i never enjoyed being around much. she was a strict, stoic woman who was hard to make laugh and harder to make relax. after raising 5 kids pretty much solo in the 30's and 40's she latched on to god and found her new mission... to save our souls. the older i get the more i have learned to be real with elsie, show her brutal honesty, that which was rarely afforded her in life. along with that approach, i found out how to find her laugh, to make her blush, to challenge her think, to love her. now at 101 years of age, she is like a child again, curious and somewhat giddy, still stubborn, but fun. she won't be around much longer and i'm glad i have heard her laugh.
1 Comment
Lise
1/13/2013 11:30:11 am
Beautiful to see through the exterior walls put up by people, to put aside the "you" in the relationship and truly "see" her and to show her love at the end of her life.. It's brilliant.
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