Goin' Steady

I have huge news. Huge. Shocking.

This is bigger than my sister being diagnosed with Hyperverizonitis, ya'll! Are you sitting down?

My. Nannie. has. a. Boyfriend.

This wouldn't be so shocking except that Nannie will be 98 years old in May, and he's a younger man. We're talking late 70s, maybe mid 80s! Nannie called my mom to tell her all about their first date yesterday. My mom can't remember his name because she was in a daze, so he shall heretofore be known as Young George.

The last time Nannie came up to Virginia to visit, Young George offered to give her a ride and meet my mom halfway. I remember thinking how nice Young George must be to give my little old Nannie a lift. Young George is a widower, so perhaps he was feeling lonely and thought it would be nice to help. I am personally very grateful to Young George for his service, because the thought of my Nannie on I-95 terrifies me. She insists on driving herself around her dinky little town, and is regularly involved in *incidents.* During one of these incidents, a tractor supposedly leaped out of a ditch and hit her. She pays out of pocket for the damages so that her insurance doesn't find out, and I would not be surprised if she paid off a cop or two. When questioned about the dents and dings on her newish car, Nannie pulls the "old senile woman" card and pretends like she doesn't hear you. So, thank you, Young George. You surely saved many lives that day.

I'm not sure how they met. It could have been in her Sunday School (A weekly Senior Citizen convention! When we took Natalie to visit once, I don't think the church's nursery had been at capacity in years), or he might be a neighbor. Nannie is head-strong and stubborn, and determined to stay in her own house for as long as she pleases. She lives there all by herself, and has a cleaning lady that comes a couple of times a week. So it's nice to know that Young George may be around to keep her company. Perhaps they can take a walk to the mailbox and back...with Nannie's walker, that's like accomplishing a half-marathon!

If Young George is a gold-digger, he will be profoundly disappointed. With the exception of my drunk aunt (not to be confused with my perfectly lucid, Texan aunt who is Blair's mom), no one tells Nannie what to do with her finances. She is a "tight-fisted hand at the grindstone," and nobody tells her what to do with her "monies," as Natalie would say.

Let's just hope that Young George has good intentions and is looking for companionship. As long as he doesn't tire of hearing the story of my grandfather's ship sinking at La Havre in the War, he should be fine. Maybe they can watch Matlock together before they go line dancing, which is Nannie's current passion.

At any rate, I think this is a good thing. My grandfather passed away in '95, so she's been all by herself for a long time now. My own mom, who's been widowed twice, rolled her eyes good-naturedly and sighed.

"My 98 year old mother has a date!" she moaned.

Now she knows how I feel! My Nannie's got more romance than I do! (heehee)