old, but not that old

In my face is flashin' signs
Seek it out and ye shall find
The old, but I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
On just doing what we're told

(Counting Stars, One Republic)

"You know, after the war I was still young but even then we've had a pandemic. There was this flu, they called it the Spanish flu, and people died like flies in autumn"

My heart shrinks a little - Granny is old, turning 97 soon, but clearly she did not live through WW1 or the Spanish Flu. There are weeks like this one, when every day she regresses a bit. Then, luckily, there are better days when she can almost seem her old self.

What I find more touching is that, when she's more aware of herself, she seems to go for a "fake it until you make it" approach. Don't get me wrong here - the trouble is, when she's very much aware she's conscious that she's quite deaf, but she doesn't want to show it, so if she doesn't know what one is talking about, she totally tries to look like she perfectly knows what's going on. I can't help it, I find that tenacity adorable.

I'm taking care of her in lieu of my mom who's on vacation this week. Yesterday Granny was having a good day, and we all went out for lunch at a local restaurant that has a cozy garden, together with my brother, his wife and their two kids, and I think she had a good time.