Today, it dawned on me that I live here with several grandmas. I mean "grandmas" in the most loving and respectful way, not in a belittling or disrespectful sense.
It’s not just about their age, even though some sisters are certainly at an age where they could easily be (my!) grandmothers. What really struck me today were some of their little quirks. Of course, we all have our peculiarities, regardless of our age. But as I watched one sister dip her bread into her tea because her dentures don’t allow her to bite as firmly anymore, I couldn’t help but think of a child saying, “My grandma always does…”
There’s always something specific that every grandma “always” does. These little quirks make me smile from time to time. It might be the incredible amount of sugar poured into the breakfast tea, or the apple sauce mixed with water and sipped, or the sugar sprinkled over noodles, or the bread crust cut at regular intervals to make it easier to bite, and so on…
It feels like people often say what their grandma always does, while what sticks with you about your mother is often what she always says.
Everyone has their habits—not just in action but also in thinking and speaking. Certain topics and phrases become so typical of a person that they’re automatically associated with them.
In many ways, I have not only found many sisters here but also many mothers and grandmothers. And often, these roles overlap—sometimes two, sometimes all three, can be found in one person.
And each one of them I hold dearly in my heart.
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