7. Grandma’s 91st birthday

I was supposed to work that day but for some reason I’d switched shifts with someone. Grandma’s (my father’s mother) birthday was the day after my mother’s so there was always a conflict of interest when it came to celebrating.

This weekend however, my mom was out celebrating with one of her booskis so I was free. I arranged to meet my cousin up in Harlem where she’d pick me up and we’d drive to the nursing home. On the way we picked up another cousin. My auntie was already there and my sister was on her way up after having hitched a ride with Gary, a family friend.

I hadn’t seen Grandma in awhile but despite just having tuned 91 years old in a nursing home, she looked wonderful and was as boisterous and funny as ever.

We had an awesome time, sitting around her bed, eating cake while grandma cracked joke after joke (we were the butt of most of them but we didn’t care, we were all just happy that we still had her). She had us in stitches the whole time. I have a video of her on my phone dancing to one of her favorite reggae songs.

We all knew that the likelihood of Grandma seeing another birthday was slim and yet it was a celebration of life and life well lived. I had a new found appreciation for my grandmother, for her life and all she went through and just felt so grateful to know her, this remarkable woman.

I resolved that day that if I was to see 91, then I was going to be as happy, vivacious and fulfilled as Grandma was.