Nano

“Blah, blah, blah.” We always watch the news when we eat dinner and its always the same stuff. People with masks throw stuff at police and they shoot water back at them. There is always a shooting somewhere-I wonder when it will happen at my school? The loudspeaker is blaring out instructions every morning telling us where to hide and listen to your teacher. Sometimes at the end of the news its kinda funny-they tell a story that makes my parents and Nano smile, sometimes they cry.

We eat dinner in front of the TV because it is the only chair Nano has that doesn’t hurt her back. We have a really cool marble table where we sit for holidays and special occasions. It has a lot a green stripes with black and grey stripes too-my dad always brushes his hand on it and say how much he loves it. She sits at the front of the table cause she doesn’t hear really good, and it gives her a better chance to hear everybody talk. She gets frustrated and can’t hear all the stories flying across the table and waves here hands to slow us down. We all talk pretty loudly so I don’t understand why see can’t hear us…. 

We all thought it was a good idea for her to live with us. She was living pretty close to us, so she didn’t want to. She had a really pretty car and I liked to ride in it. It was a red jaguar and the inside smelled like Florida. It didn’t matter that the car was old, it still smelled like a good vacation. She was kinda scary driving though. She drove super slow and other cars honked and drove around her. Sometimes they waved their hands at her, but I don’t think they were happy waves. She was turning ninety which is why my mom wanted her to be with us. She got around ok but mom still worried. When she saw the place we were buying and saw there was tons of room for her stuff, her eyes lit-up and she said ok.

We have lived together lots of times, so I thought it was cool, and besides, she smells nice-not moth-bally like other grandmothers I’ve met. 

She really did have a lot of boxes. My dad said she had a hundred boxes of just books, and if we put them all in our condo the floor would collapse-he really said that. My mom said he was kidding and rolled her eyes. We moved before and had to get rid of lots of stuff, so I didn’t understand where all this stuff had been hiding. After she moved in, I helped her unpack. She really did have a lot of books-and more other papers than I’d ever seen before.  She said it was her “story” and had been writing it most of her life. She had boxes for all the different events during her life. Most of it was kinda boring (to me) except the box that told about her blowing up things in California. That was way cool! The pictures showed this really pretty lady climbing up a mountainside carrying dynamite-and her hair looked perfect! How does she do that? She still does her hair and makeup even though she rarely goes anywhere and if unexpected visitors come to see her, she can get kinda grumpy. She’s ok around us but really doesn’t want to look bad in front of anyone else. 

Unpacking her boxes had other surprises. Every so often, I would open a box inside another box, and it was filled with chocolate! It was not old or looked forgotten; it was put there for a reason I thought. She would smile and put her index finger to her lips-the signal to keep it our secret. I found a lot of stashed chocolate and wondered why she wasn’t fat like other old people. Nano called it “metabolism” and hopefully I had it too. I guess if I can still eat that and look as good as her, I hope I have “metabolism.” 

We all get along really well, even when we talk politics or religion. My parents only say stuff she wouldn’t agree with when she isn’t wearing her hearing-aids or has her tv headphones on. Generally, the really loud discussions only happen at the big table, so she only hears bits and pieces-that’s the main reason she gets frustrated. Sometimes it is funny. Stories go back and forth, and I watch her head tilt to and fro and her eyes go side to side-finally she throws her hands up. “Wait!” “I can’t follow all your stories; you need to talk one at a time!” This rule gets followed for about a minute and then everybody jumps back in at full volume. She just shakes her head and offers a half-smile. She tells me she really wants to know what everyone is doing but is happy they all come to see her. 

My dad started writing; he has wanted to do it for a long time but said he couldn’t find anything to say or was interesting. He got excited about finding his father and started writing and really hasn’t stopped. Even as much as he does, it doesn’t come close to Nano. Every cabinet, bookcase, trunk and table are filled with her stories. I don’t know how someone can find that much to say, but she does. She has really pretty handwriting so even I can read it. Dad does everything on his computer; so, when I ask if he can write like her, he just laughs and said his fingers can’t keep up with his brain, so it gets super sloppy. She copies lots of pictures and other stuff too; she says it is to fill new books. Maybe she is planning a Nano museum.

Sometimes she talks about Ed. He is the opposite of her. She is the best; but he was kinda weird. He was always too busy for us. My dad always jokes that mom had a different dad cause she is way different then him. It almost feels like she is apologizing for stuff he did or didn’t do. None of us blame her for being with him. She is us and he is a faded memory that we sometimes joke about. 

I try to help her with her iPhone or show her stuff she can do on a computer to help her writing and stuff, but she gets scared. I show her how super easy it is to find answers to questions but she knows I will do it so there is no need. She’s right. She was a super good cook too. It is hard for her to stand in one place for very long or navigate the kitchen, so her cooking now is mostly making her meals-except dinner, which mom always does. She taught my mom lots of cooking lessons like pies and turkey which my dad is happy about. 

Most of my friends don’t have grandparents anymore and a lot of them weren’t super close anyway so it doesn’t matter. Nano has been with me my whole life and even though she is old, she promised she would live another 5-6 years which is awesome! She and dad watch a channel called “Britbox” and he says there is at least that many shows they haven’t seen yet, so that will work really good. We will still watch the news at dinner and listen to my mom make fun of the way the news people dress, so life is really ok. 

The End