Grandma Curry

There are two women in Wesley's life on a daily basis - his Grandma Curry and myself.  We built our house across the road from hers, just 50 yards north.  I really enjoy living in the middle of nowhere and yet having one neighbor be really close.  At 76-ish years young, that woman can work me into the ground.  No, I don't mean that she gives me a list of chores and works me to death, I mean that she can work circles around me. 

Example:
* At the beginning of the summer Grandma C. asked me if I could do her yard work for her this summer.  She just "couldn't possibly find the energy to mow ever again."  I have yet to touch the grass on her lawn.  If it grows more than 1/4" she's on it like a flash. 

* Grandma C. says that she's retired from cooking.  "I just don't even think I can cook anymore." (Noticing a pattern here?)  I invited her over for Wesley's birthday supper back in April, giving her less than 2 hours notice.  She walks over to our house (since we're only about 50 yards apart) for supper carrying a fresh angel food cake and peaches.

* I'm in the middle of staining our new porch and I needed to leave one afternoon and start swathing hay instead.  Grandma C. offered to paint the bottom of a small wooden table I have sitting on the porch.  I should have known better.  I come back at 9 that night and not only is the entire table stained, she's started some of the porch posts that I haven't gotten to yet!

* And the coup de gras:  I was staining on our porch this morning (yet again, a never ending project) and Grandma C. rides her lawn mower across the road to our yard and says that she's just going to mow for five minutes, in one little spot, I'll never even know she's there... blah, blah, blah.  I hear the mower start up and go around the corner of our house, run for five minutes, and then stop.  "Can it be?"  I asked myself.  "Did she really just do only as much as she promised?  Will she go home and rest now since the high today is 102 degrees?"  I knew it was too good to be true so I just had to go check on her, and I'm so glad I did.  I walked around the corner of the house to see her PICKING UP LARGE ROCKS and moving them out of her mowing path.  "Oh, its no big deal dear, I knew you were busy holding that 6 ounce paint brush staining your porch and these rocks can't weigh an ounce over 20 pounds."  Okay, so she didn't really say that but she might as well have.  You feel about this big when you see someone three times your age kick your butt royally lifting rocks.  Or doing anything at this point really. 

Wesley has learned to laugh at my predicament and thinks its great that she still gets out and is so active.  I do too, but to a POINT!  I called him this morning after I found Grandma C. moving rocks out of her way and she had hopped back onto her mower.  "Honey, dang it, come home and tell your grandma to get off her mower and go home!  Its too hot outside!  She's moving rocks!  She's going to mow our entire yard!!!"

His reply?

"Well, it'd just look tacky if she only mowed half our yard."

.....sigh..... click.