One of the most wonderful things about marrying into a big family has been gaining so many siblings. Mark is the exact middle of the seven, with three older sisters and three younger brothers. His youngest brother, John, is a junior in high school. I have always had a special love for John, probably because he always let me sit next to him when we played board games and would gently explain the rules to me (Pressprich family board games are very competitive), and that love has only grown with the years that I’ve known him. He is truly an amazing young man.
Today we had the great pleasure of seeing him perform as Benedict in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It is without a doubt, my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays, and this was a great version of it.
Mark’s sister, Sarah, offered to take William for the afternoon, so Mark and I were able to take Gram, G, and Charlotte to experience their first ever live Shakespeare performance. I wish I could have snapped a photo of G’s face as she watched, enraptured by her uncle as he stood on stage. I doubt she understood much of the dialogue, but she understands body language and facial expressions, and she adores her uncle, so she enjoyed the play very much. Charlotte did great for an 8 month old at a play, and with a little bouncing in the back, fell fast asleep just after intermission.
Gram also enjoyed the day. She doesn’t get out much any more, except with us for family outings. Her days of going to the senior center for yoga and lunch are long gone as her physical and mental health has declined. I am grateful daily that she lives in such a busy household, so full of life that she can’t escape it even if she tries.
On days when we go out, Gram often offers to stay behind to save us the work of taking her, or worries aloud about the difficulty she’ll be to us. Her default state is to assume that she’s a burden on those around her. The idea of an unconditional love that doesn’t mind sacrifice and values her for who she is and not what she can do is foreign to her. I very much believe that it’s one of the things that Mark and I are meant to witness to in her life- that she is loved, no matter what happens. This, care of the elderly, is the part of being pro-life that isn’t often talked about- we value all lives, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death, all are sacred, all people are created by God in His image and likeness, and all are valued and love for that reason. So even if Gram is grouchy, or has forgotten more than she remembers, she is still Gram, and she is still loved. What a gift it is for me to be able to be the one day in and day out to be able to show that love for her!
Because of all this, and for many other reasons, it’s important to Mark and I that Gram be a part of whatever family event we are attending. She’s just one of our crew, along for the ride. And so today we went to John’s play together. And she didn’t understand it all, and compared it to Blue Bloods (her favorite show on Netflix), but she was there among the whole family, and experienced life and love and theater.
After the play we stayed to see John and tell him how much we loved his performance. And dang it if he didn’t show me again how incredible he is- As soon as he saw Gram, he smiled big, bent down to her level, grasped her hands, and told her how happy he was to see her and how grateful he was that she was there.That, right there, is being a witness to love and the value of life. In that moment John saw Gram and acknowledged her; he didn’t need to, there was a sea of people surrounding him, and she was sitting in her wheelchair off to the side. It would have been easy for him to have overlooked her or just talk to those he’s closer to. Not John though. And for that I am grateful. And beyond proud of the man that he has become.
