My grandma says to me tonight, “So I hear you have a boyfriend?” D'oh, slaps forehead. Been talking to mom have we? Oy vey. She just wants me to be as happy as she was with grandpa. Sounds good to me. She's lonely during the holidays too she says, she and grandpa used to have so much fun this time of year. I wonder if she noticed the hitch in my voice as I held back tears while we chatted about old times? That's what we always do, along with her telling of morbid old lady jokes that make me belly laugh and realize that growing old really can be done gracefully. Thank you for the call Grandma, I needed that tonight. So apparently the old potted pine tree grandpa hauled into the house each Christmas was bought the year their oldest child Steve was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident. I had no idea. It's been planted in the backyard ever since it got too big to bring in the house and is now as tall as the telephone wires. I always thought it was so kewl they had their own Christmas tree to use each year. Of course there was always lots of kewl stuff at grandma and grandpa's house. I saw a remake of the 50's something Barbie in Walmart the other day. Y'know, the one with red, curly hair and a black and white striped one-piece bathing suit? Grandma had that original little gem in the toy box in the poolroom, and even made hand crocheted dresses for the dolls. My cousin Alex and I used to spend hours digging through that toy box and playing Barbies. Oh, and the elaborate blanket forts we made under the pool table! So many fun memories from grandma and grandpa's house...

Em insists she'll bare me no grandchildren, which I'm fine with until she's about 30 or so, but beyond that it's just cruel! The lil' heifer, sheesh.