grandmas

I remember having breakfast at her house. Sitting in those chairs that you could spin around, the kind that you could race across the kitchen floor, except they didn't go very fast because Grandma had carpet in her kitchen. 'Who does that?' I think now, except that I remember it's my grandmother and damn it; she doesn't like cold feet, so she's going to have carpet in her kitchen.

She'd have some sort of waltz, organ, churchish music playing in the background, coming from her clock radio. It was the 1980's, there were things like boom boxes; things that played music better, better acoustics. The music sounded horrible. I remember I changed the channel one day thinking I would trick her, she didn't say anything though, she just switched it back to her station without a mention.

And it was always Kellogg's Corn Flakes for breakfast. I couldn't think of anything more boring for breakfast than corn flakes. I asked if she 'would ever get anything other than corn flakes?', I don't remember her response, but I remember there being a box of Frosted (corn) Flakes the next time I stayed over.

Because that's what grandmas do. They spoil you. They answer your requests. They do anything for you.

::

My boys rummaged through my mom's sewing closet full of remnants of material. They each made their own cape; one plaid and one plain red. They wore them the entire weekend they were at my parent's house.

And this weekend, there were real capes waiting for them in their bedroom at my parent's house, sewn by my mom.


My grandmother passed away on Friday. There are little things that stick with me, that will always stick with me about her, like corn flakes and AM radio stations.

I hope one day, for my boys, one of those little things will be superhero capes.