The last time I yapped about our lives with Grandma was the day before her birthday. That Saturday afternoon, we had a toilet disaster. Thankfully, I wasn’t the last person to use it. The plumber, Jose, quoted $8,000+ to unclog the pipe. My Facebook friend said it was a reasonable price. We told Jose that Grandma is turning 94 the next day and asked for a birthday discount. He called and his boss reduced it by more than a thousand dollars.

Jose and a coworker returned at 5:00 pm with the necessary equipment, one that has a camera. The culprit was tree roots that pushed their way between the tiny gaps at the joints in the pipe. They were clogging up the pipes. The plumbers fixed the problem to the point where we could use water again and said they would return on Monday (Presidents Day) to discuss the bigger problem; the root cause, I guess.

Kenric’s parents, his sister and the three of us went out for dinner to celebrate three birthdays; Kenric’s Dad’s and mine in January and Grandma’s. The server said, “The complimentary dessert is a scoop of ice-cream.” When he found out that Grandma was turning 94, he said, “Pick any dessert you want! You’re above ice-cream!” Grandma liked her cobbler. Instead of just one scoop, Kenric’s Dad and I got full servings of ice-cream. Glad we decided to return to Olive and Citrus.

At church on Sunday (Grandma’s birthday), they sang Happy Birthday. After church, Kenric and I picked up the cake and fresh ingredients for the birthday meal and put up birthday decorations. The Chicken Cacciatore turned out extra delicious. All nine people seem to like it, even Kenric’s sister who doesn’t like mushrooms. However, the Broccoli Salad was not as good as when Grandma made it.

We had a wine glass with “94” and her name and date of birth engraved on it. The glass was facing her the entire dinner but she didn’t say anything. Finally, Kenric asked if she noticed it. She did, but thought it was referring to the year 1994. I said, “It’s OK. It’s your first day.” That reminded me of a card that said “Remember your life. Forget your age.”

Over the span of four days, Grandma’s nephew and his wife visited; her grandchildren burned up her phone with birthday wishes and photos of her great grandchildren and their homemade birthday cards; her friend brought roses and chocolates; she sold Grandpa’s lift chair to a couple who came to pick it up on her birthday; there were nine people here for her birthday party; there were five plumbers working on the root cause; her niece visited; she and Kenric’s Mom went through some old photo albums; and we all visited Kenric’s sister in San Diego (about two hours each way). I am exhausted and I’m only 44.