A Novel Idea
I visited my maternal grandmother a few days ago. She is a spritely octogenarian who lives in the heart of New York. As she is a on a fixed income, it is not possible for my grandmother to buy brand new books from a bookstore as needed, or even order them online. Because of this, she takes books out from her local library. However, most of the novels my grandmother wants to read are not currently in stock, and she was put on a waiting list.
For instance, there are approximately 75 people ahead of my grandmother in line for one of the novels she really wants to read. Also because of the pandemic, my grandmother is only going out rarely. Prior to COVID-19, she had a very packed social life, complete with mahjong games with friends, going to the movies, painting classes where my grandmother likes to pain flowers with watercolors, a book club, dinners, and lunches. Before the pandemic, my grandmother had the social life and full calendar of someone my age, of a young adult in their twenties. I felt bad for my grandmother as her social life has been greatly reduced as a direct result of the virus.
One of the few pleasures she still experiences in life is reading. While on the phone with her one night, I asked if she would like me to send her some books. I have boxes of novels that I either haven’t read or already finished reading. She said, “Yes.” I read her a couple titles over the phone. I also picked out a few books for her at a thrift store to send to her, as well. I told her they were mine as I knew my grandmother didn’t want me to spend any money on books for her.
I was going to FedEx the books to my grandmother, but my mother suggested we surprise her mother and my grandmother by dropping off the books in person. As she lives in Queens, and we live in New York City, the main reason I was going to FedEx the books to my grandmother is because of COVID. But, as my grandmother, my grandmother, and I are all vaccinated, and my mom and I would wear masks, we decided it would be OK to visit my grandmother briefly.
I asked my brother to call the day we planned to go over to make sure she would be home after 4 o’clock. We left the house at 3:30 PM. In addition to the books, we brought my grandmother baking supplies, an extra pair of gloves, a hat, paper towels, laundry detergent so she wouldn’t have to food shop so soon. (We told her to get items delivered, but my grandmother would have felt she was confining herself too much to her apartment.
As we neared my grandmother’s apartment building in Queens, I called to let her know a FedEx package was being delivered shortly to her front door (even though FedEx does not do this, and later, she said she was surprised to hear that FedEx was going to drop it off at her door since they always drop off packages in the lobby. There is no doorman. I used my mom’s spare key to get into the building and knocked on my grandmother’s door, left the box in front, and moved to the side so she wouldn’t see me right away.
When I stepped in front of her door, she was shocked and so happy and excited to see me. She gave me a big hug and invited me inside. My mother sadly could not find a parking spot so the two of them visited when I left and my grandmother said hello at the car. I laid out all the books I brought for her on her couch and brought the baking supplies and everything else into the kitchen.
Because we had not been able to see each other for Chanukah, my grandmother still had our Chanukah presents that she wrapped and so she gave me mine, my dad’s, and my mom’s. There were three bags filled with presents and another bag filled with candy. I brought two bags of goodies for my grandmother, and so I left with more bags than I originally had brought myself, which actually makes sense since grandmother’s always have sweets and presents on hand.
It was lovely to see my grandmother, and she was thrilled to see me. She now has a story to share with her friends for months to come.
(Anonymous) – 2/3/22