Wednesdays With Auntie Hope

Today Auntie Hope was having a bad day. I found her wandering outside her flat. I asked her where she was going and she just looked at me and said, "I don't know."

Once inside she asked me if I wanted tea three times, forgot where her cups were, forgot how to make tea, forgot where the sugar was, and reminded me that she'd only moved in "just last week." My heart ached to see her like that.

I brought her a 500-piece puzzle, as she loves to do puzzles. She seemed genuinely pleased until she read the side of the box and suddenly got serious. When I asked her what was wrong she said, "This is only for children over three, so I guess that means you and I can't do it!" And then she burst into laughter.

I *love* that woman. If she can recover from a serious bout of forgetfulness on one of her "bad" days to catch me completely off guard with a joke like that, then I want to be like her when I'm older. I admire her for having a strength of character to laugh on days when crying would be so much easier.

They say that children laugh on average 300 times per day while adults laugh only 15 times. I don't know about you but I want to be more like a child.