Please tell me you remember this from Sesame Street. This magical little memory game a little girl sang on her way to the store for her mother. It's here to help your memory.
Every other week I take my 93 year old Grandpa to the grocery store. Every time we shop he buys the same things;
6 oranges
5 bananas
2 mangos
4 avocados
2 cans of soup
2-36 packs of Diet Dr. Pepper
3 packages of Klondike bars
Frozen Dinners
2 gallons of ice cream
Milk
Buttermilk
Cereal
Sour cream
As I follow him around the store I am careful not to interrupt his memory. He looks back about every ten steps to make sure I'm there. He smiles and keeps going. Every employee at the store knows him. They don't ever get mad when he digs out ripe fruit or peels one banana off each bunch till he's satisfied he's found the perfect one. They smile nicely when he tells them to only use paper bags.
Grandpa likes things done in a certain order and according to his routine.
We stroll out to the car where Grandpa always offers to help load up. I know by now his legs are tired and he needs to sit. He pulls himself into the car to rest and I quickly finish the job. We get back to his house where I run in and "Clear the House". Basically we look for any bad guys that may have slipped in through the windows that are nailed shut or a booby-trapped door. (You've seen UP, right? Every door has at least 3 locks.) I bring in all the groceries and line them up on the counter where he can spend the next hour putting everything away.
As crazy as it is for me to make the 30 mile round-trip drive to the beach, I know that he needs this activity. He needs to get out and get moving. He needs a reason to get up, get dressed and hopefully shower. He needs me as I need him. He's still my Grandpa.
