Uplifting Conversations

If it weren't for the daily trips in the car, where one is a captive audience, I would rarely be privileged to know what goes on in the deep recesses of my grandchildren's minds.  Case in point:  While I was driving, one of them (they sound identical sometimes and I was so blown away, I didn't think to care which one it was) asked me, "How old is Mr. Moreno?  Is he younger than you or older?  Who is the oldest of you and him?"  Please be advised that Zeke Moreno is the gentleman who mows my yard for me.  He retired from Dow Chemical as a bus driver where he picked up employees from the gate and drove them to their destinations inside the plant.  He knows my dad from Dow and also my late husband, Michael.

Back in 1997 when the effects of simultaneous chemo and radiation rendered Mike unable to do yard work, he refused to let me or my daughters do it but finally relented when I asked him if Mr. Moreno could start mowing for us on a regular basis so he's been doing it ever since.  Zeke wears a mask when he works, because he has allergies that have developed into pneumonia more than once, but it isn't like the kids have never seen him without it!  He is 87 years old, wears hearing aids in both ears and works circles around most individuals, especially me.  As if keeping my yard looking good isn't enough, Zeke brings me vegetables from his garden!

Although I get around like I'm at least 90, I definitely am the younger.  In fact, he is the kind of person I aspire to be when I grow up, which apparently, from the looks of things, won't be long. It's a good thing that I love my grandchildren unconditionally.