I am the future

There were some very bad storms in St. Louis right before I came out. As of today, approximately 200,000 people are still without power in the St. Louis region. My 93 year old grandma (who lives alone in the house that she's lived in for 52 years) has been staying at my parent's house since last Wednesday when the storms hit because a tree took down the powerlines to her house and ripped out the meter attached to the house.

Having my grandma at the house has changed everyone's routine and I think it has been a bumpy adjustment for everyone, including her. My grandma's health is failing: she is nearly blind, she has difficulty walking, she has back pain, and it seems her hearing is starting to go too. Despite all of this, her mind is still sharp...she remembers an incredible amount of detail. She knows that the younger generations (my parents and sibs and even me) get frustrated with her physical limitations and the fact that she can't be left alone in this house. Her lack of sight makes it very difficult for her to get around (so she can't come with to run errands), and it just isn't safe for her to be alone in unfamiliar territory (so it means someone has to stay home with her at all times).

This morning, she was drinking out of a mug that I think was mine from when I was a teenager that said "I am the future! Scary, isn't it?" I found the message, which was intended to be on a teenager's mug, very poignant.