my uncle was retelling the story of coming out to his mother a couple of years ago. he had been with his partner for well over a decade, though he had never even mentioned his name. apparently, after my uncle finished telling her that he was gay and had just adopted a 17 month old girl from haiti, my grandmother (probably already in her mid-80s) looked at him and say : "well, that's a good idea!" my aunt even commented about how it seemed silly, in retrospect, to have kept that to himself all these years.

gosh, sometimes my dad's family surprises me.

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we talked a little bit afterward about how she is doing in her "so-so" state of sanity. she's mostly happy, though, and thankfully forgets that she is 91 and spends most of her time in bed.

when i go visit her, she sometimes asks me if i've become a nurse. she knows who i am, but she thinks that i came to care for her, which i do, i suppose. she takes my hands between hers and warms them up. then apologizes for the fact that i have to brave the cold to come see her. i should tell her that these moments i spend with her truly warm my heart.