A Sketch from my Family Vacation

I took the week off (a rare occasion) and my husband and I went out to Estherville, IA to visit 96-year-old Grandma Sheppard for Easter, because we rarely get to see her, and it's important to let her know we're thinking of her. She's sweet as can be for someone that's been alive since 1915, though her short term memory is very bad. By the time we landed back in Washington, DC, we knew she'd probably forgotten we visited.

But, thankfully, while we were there we had the brilliant idea of getting her engaged in a little painting, to challenge her mind, and so that she'd have some proof of our existence. My husband got her a small acrylic set on her 92nd birthday, but she forgets she has it, so she doesn't use it. Not the case this week.



So when we talk to her on the phone we can ask, "hey, is there a landscape with the pine trees on your wall?" And she replies "Oh, yes! Did I paint that?"



You sure did, Grandma.