Saturday, August 11, 2007

I'm tempted to write a semi-end of summer post since it seems like summer is quickly drawing to a close but let's not get too hasty. There is still three weeks of glorious vacation. Or time spent away from school anyway.
I had to go to work today. Which would have been very upsetting if I hadn't met the greatest guy today at the hospital. He has this twinkle to his eye, even when he's sitting still, which speaks volumes about a mischievous personality. He's never allowed to cause mischief of course - hospitals are very serious places - but I can imagine the type of trouble he would get into given the chance. Most of the time, he's slow to speak but only because he's formulating the type of idea and phrase that will leave you amazed and a little caught off guard. He moves with real dignity even though he has a slouch to his shoulders that seem almost casual. His ankle gets swollen sometimes from poor circulation so I wrapped it for him today and the warmth of his thanks made me feel like a little bit of sunshine had broken through the rainy clouds outside. He has deep laugh lines on his face and few of those wrinkles that represent a frown. He loves cookies but he has a lot of trouble with them because he's missing more than a few teeth. I like the color of his hair: a clear, snowy white. His grandchildren come visit sometimes and they've got the same blue-green eyes that he does. He astonishes me with his age; he's turning 100 years old next week.