Her mind departed. Grandma's still here.
Backstory
This is a tribute to my grandmother Digna Santos (born in January 1906, Dominican Republic).Even though her memories went traveling somewhere far away sometime ago, at age 106, she is still alive and physically rather healthy (the worst she's ever had is a cold). This photograph was taken 3 years ago. I was so lucky to be able to capture one of those rare moments of sudden witty awareness. I love to see how she teased me and mimicked how I tried to chase her attention with my camera as if trying to say: "I don't know who you are, but if you think I don't know what you're up to, well, I have news for you".
I don't know how long more she will stay with us, but I want the world to know that she's still here and that I adore her.
by Amapola in Six-Word Memoirs on Aug 04, 2012 | 
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T-shirt
Comments
marymc says,
She's pretty darn adorable.NumbrOneAunt says,
this photo is so wonderful - i'm glad you were able to capture it! we lost mom to alzheimer's in 2009, and as the disease progressed and her mental state diminished I used to say that i didn't know how to talk about her. mom is really smart? mom was really smart? i finally settled on "when mom was herself".but back to the photo of you grandma - have you considered compiling a book of family stories about her that can be handed down? you're obviously a talented writer and you could provide a great narrative thread to tie them all together. I'm sure your family would treasure something like this. but maybe you're already working on it! anyway, thank you for sharing this with us.
JAD says,
She's so cute. 106! amazing.BanjoDan says,
great tribute to a special grandmother!scribbling_scribe says,
Love this picture and backstory, Amapola! And what a great idea #1Aunt!Level1 says,
You have your grandma's eyes.Amapola says,
Thank you... I see her only once a year, so every time I visit home, I think it's my last encounter with her, but she keeps on surprising us! I wished I still lived close by when she was still (shamelessly) rambling about all the stories of her past... sometimes it was moving, sometimes hilarious. She's always been a woman of very few words and now I wished I took the time to listen to what she had to say about her outlook on life. She's fallen into silence, but she still smiles when I stroke her hair and give her a kiss.Level1 says,
:-)tracywithouthill says,
beautiful! thanks for sharing!Amapola says,
She's still alive - 107 in 3 months!