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Hilarious Spanish thing:  "You have sleepy face" (tienes cara de sueño) is a perfectly appropriate, correct and mature thing to say.  Basically it means, "you look tired."

So in this blog I use the word 'I' quite a bit.  That is sort of the whole point of a blog, I know, and I've come to terms with it.  But today I'm mixing it up and will be using the words 'she,' 'her' and 'that crazy old bat' a little more.  No, I will not be doing this post in the third person (worst idea ever?); I'm dedicating this post to an awesome Chilean, who I happen to live with, my Abuelita Chilena. 

About the cat: Lalito looks cute but don't be fooled, he is fat, always gets into fights, sticks his big fuzzy balls in your face when you're trying to do homework and he smells bad.  Yes, I live with Smelly Cat. 

Her real name is Genoveva something but I had to look it up because we only ever call her La Abuelita, Little Grandma.  But what this lady lacks in stature she makes up for in vivacity and a trait I'm calling with it-ness.  Because, people, she is with it.  Every day she puts on her pearls and her red lipstick (I'm totally experimenting with red lipstick when I get home, by the way) and she has a very excellent collection of cardigans.  She leaves the house about once a week for one of two reasons: heart check up with her cardiologist (who comes over for dinner sometimes) or to get her hair done.  Her days consist of reading the newspaper, sipping Nescafe (her only fault?), telling me how to be a lady and knitting.  And she knits the most beautiful things, mostly tiny cardigans and pants for infants.  

Back in September, she fell in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom, messing up her hip.  It was terrifying, they drove her to the hospital at like 2am.  She was bedridden (what a terrible word) for a few weeks and her friends came over during the week to chat and drink Nescafe and eat cookies by her bedside, which was precious.  But after a month or so, she was back on her feet, with the help of a walker.  Today, she uses only a cane and can climb stairs!

She is an inspiration to me because she is a living example of aging well.  At 93, she keeps her mind active by reading and knitting (and watching Tempano, a real brain stimulant) and is just of a lovely disposition.  It's easy for me to say now, not faced with the tough realities of an aging parent or grandparent, but I really think that in the future I will open my home to my parents and grandparents before putting them in a nursing home, depending on their wishes.  But nursing homes don't really exist here, kids grow up with grandparents in the house and think it's a great thing. 

Often, she is more dressed up than I am at lunch.

So that's my Abuelita Chilena, I love her and she has taught me a lot about how different societies treat, house and perceive their elderly.  Dude, she doesn't even wear GLASSES!  Machine.