A visit to gran-ma's

I went to see my Gran yesterday.
First time in about 7 months. Terrible I know.
More so as she only lives a 5 minute walk away :-/

Anyway - i'm so glad I decided to go.

She's a fantastically funny old bird and I have to say - i've become quite fond of her over the years.

As young children, we weren't very close to my gran and we saw her very in frequently.. This I now understand to be due largely to my own mother being suck a fuck wit, that she had pushed the family away from us. My sister and I just thought they didn't like us. There were never any christmas cards or pocket money or presents on birthdays.... All our cousins got them, we didn't.

They seemed a whole world away from us.

It's only as i've got older that I realise how important she is.
The matriarch of the family. 4 children, 12 grandkids, 4 great gran kids... and a million other relo's on her own side...

I still do not get on with my own mother, haven't spoken to her for over 13 years now (believe me its easier that way). But my gran is something different.

Although I call her granny - I weirdly still don't feel an intense bond to her if that makes any sense? I almost think of her as a funny old woman who is in somehow my life... but I don't entirely get why. Of course there's the connection and she's my mothers mum, i get that, but in the same way I've never bonded with my mother I feel the same about my gran. But I am very fond of her. I'd totally miss her if she was gone.

This is probably really quite hard for someone who has a 'normal' ish family life to understand.

But the only way I can break it down is like as if there was a broken connection somehow... Still in touch, still in the same area but the connection is not quite fully connected.

Anyway - she cheered me up no end.

She must be in her early 70's - she's a typical Jamaican lady (accent and all) - and when she talks to her friends (this funny british accent emerges that cracks me up)... She had to tell her friend (the pensioner upstairs) that she wasn't going to Bingo today (she goes EVERY DAY btw that's her vice) - she also wanted to show off that her grand daughter had popped in to see her as well.... I was smiling to myself.... thinking where the fuck did that accent come from?

She closes the window and resumes the normal jamaican accent as if nothing had ever happened.

Here's what I love about her:

She's funny and witty.
She has an amazing smile.
She has a lot of friends.
She pulls stupid faces like i do when trying to make her points
She gasps at things, actually gasps - that's pretty fecking funny in my books
She's generous and kind.
She feels pain but keeps quiet about it (sound like anyone you know?)
She likes a good gossip (i'm starting to see where i get it from)
She has AMAZING skin - like AMAZING!!!!! She's concluded her good skin and good health comes from the trees around her and that they breathe new life into her (she may be right!).
She's happy with the small things in life. Me too.

She really made my day.
She made me smile and feel happy inside.

You gotta love that.