Granny & Dinah Sketches

For those of you who look forward to "Granny stories", I have a few to update you with. They would be more aptly named "Granny and Dinah stories".

Dinah has taken to Granny being our home more quickly than any of us. It just seems natural to her for Gran to be here. After Dinah wakes in the morning, she asks eagerly if it is time to wake Granny. She sits on the arm of Granny's chair to talk to her. When Granny is asleep she "shhh's" anyone who makes noise.

I have told you before that Dinah has to get up to help Granny any time Granny moves about the house. Well, her assistance has widened to the area of translation.

Gran is terribly hard of hearing. It is better sometimes than others but it is all the time bad. One often has to lean down to her ear and repeat important words to her so that she will understand what you are trying to tell her. Dinah must observe me doing that because she has taken it upon herself to repeat most everything anyone says to Granny in a loud, slow, shout. She pauses between words to place proper power behind each one.

If you have ever seen the movie version of Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow (1996), you will be able to picture how Dinah is with Granny now. Below is a scene where Miss Bates (Sophie Thompson) relays the gist of her conversation with Emma and Knightly to her mother, Mrs. Bates (Phyllida Law), who is hard of hearing.

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Sometimes Dinah is just trying to help and doesn't understand what Granny is allowed to do herself or what she needs help with. I supposed because Dinah is only 2 years old, she naturally thinks that if the boundary is good enough for her, that it should also apply to Gran. Dinah was helping Amelia place silver ware on the table for supper last evening. Granny sat at the table waiting and watching until the meal was served. Dinah got to Granny's place and was about to lay down Granny's butter knife. She paused before placing it on the place mat, clutched the knife to her chest and commanded in the strongest, clearest voice that she could muster, "DON'T TOUCH IT, RANNY."

Granny, not knowing what Dinah was saying, wanted to help and reached out for the knife to get it from her, saying, "Thank you." Dinah began repeating, "DON'T TOUCH IT!" wildly, and became upset. It was my turn to interpret and after a few minutes, I believe I was able to communicate to Gran that Dinah was afraid that she would cut herself and to Dinah that Granny was indeed quite capable of handling a butter knife.
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Dinah, as of late, has been fascinated with names. She loves to ask, "What's your name?" After you answer she will tell you her name. Sometimes Eric or I after answering the "What's your name?" question several times, will replace our real name with a made-up one to make her laugh. She liked this enough to adopt a new name for herself.

One afternoon she was playing this game with Granny. The conversation went like this:

Dinah: "What's your name?"

Granny smiling: "It's Granny."

Dinah: "What's my name?"

Granny: "I don't know. What is your name?"

Dinah raises the volume of her voice and shouts in slow syllables: "MY--NAME--IS--BRIT--NEY!"

Granny: Well, that's a good name.

Thankfully, Granny didn't know Dinah's name in the first place and won't remember that conversation to be confused by her imaginative great-granddaughter.

There are good days and bad days, spectacular moments and incredibly difficult ones. But when the day is long and hard, God places funny things like this in the midst of them.  I'm still glad Granny is here and feel privileged to be the one who gets to take care of her.