Who's Old? Who's Young?

I spent much of the day with Tyler and Jaci and the babes. Many conversations circled around tomorrow afternoon's scheduled departure of the babes and me to the mountains of North Carolina, where my mother, brothers, and sister-in-law await our arrival.

I called down there today to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and my older brother, Jerry, told me Mother had only packed one outfit for the entire five-day trip. This of a woman who loves to shop, who will buy new clothes when she has not an inch to spare in her closet. Daddy used to joke about her saying, "I spent $100 today but I don't know what I got" and patting the couch or bed around her, trying to find her packages. This was in 1960 when $100 was a far larger amount than it is today. Even last summer, when we met in the mountains, a side trip to Highlands found her coming home with a new blouse and a new sweater.

Tonight as we were doing some dinner tasks in Tyler and Jaci's kitchen, I said to the very-tall-for-six-and-a-half Ridley, "Uncle Jerry and Uncle Jim and Aunt Molly are going to be so surprised to see how tall you are." She looked at me and asked, "What's the name of your other friend who will be there?" I was stumped, as only family will be at the property. I said, "Who do you mean?" She replied, "You know. The one who can't hear." I looked at Tyler and then at Ridley. "Do you mean my mother? Grandmother?" She smiled, nodded, and called over her shoulder as she bounded back to the dining room, "Yeah, that's the one. I just couldn't remember her name."

Umm. She's your greatgrandmother. We call her "Grandmother."

Tyler, Jaci and I just cracked up. I was laughing so hard I had to wipe the tears from my eyes.

It's going to be a very interesting couple of days in the mountains. I think a lot of laughing will occur, and it may not all be "laughing with" someone.