Lunch with Agnes

  I like to collect things. I collect jewelry, hats, teacups and teapots. I collect books, quotes, mugs and postcards. I also collect people. Unlike my other collections the people don't sit on shelves and collect dust or are used for hot beverages. The people get adopted sometimes without knowing it.
  To date I have three older sisters, one grandmother, two awesomely cool older brothers and a flock of younger brothers. Today I have added another grandmother to the list.
  Her name is Agnes. She lives nearby in a townhouse. I have been keeping a eye on her and checking up on her for the last couple of years. I have now started to visit her once a month.
 Right now our visits have consisted of going out to lunch. She wanted to take me out today and she wanted to go to Culvers. It was a place that she hadn't been to in awhile and there were several workers there that she wanted to see. One of them took our order and chatted with Agnes for a little bit.
  We took our seats and waited for our food. While we waited I asked Agnes how she got into the field of work she was in for many years. It turned out that her former mother-in-law had got her started out. The two women worked together for awhile. Then the economic condition deteriorated and the business fell apart. Agnes got into something similar helping to manage dental offices. It was what she did until she retired.
  I like asking Agnes questions about her younger years. During the Depression she and her family moved around quite a bit as they needed to go where her father could find work. Her late teen years and all her adult life were spent in St. Paul. It was a city that her father loved and she loves it too. I could listen for hours to her stories.
  Our food was brought to us and we ate it. It had been a long time since I'd been to Culvers. I'd been told that the veggie burger was very good. It was. We sat and chatted for a long time. Then we decided to leave. I took her to the bank so she could do some business and then we went back to her townhouse.
   She asked me if I had time to come up. There were things I did need to do, but I came upstairs with her anyway. Her townhouse is beautiful. It is decorated completely in white and cream with accents of soft colours. There are pictures everywhere. I looked at them and she told me who was in them. There were old pictures of her parents and one of Agnes and her younger sister. There was the certificate her father was given when he made his First Communion.
  She wanted to show me some things. She had a lot of old suits that she used to wear. Many of them had fur trimming. All of them were lovely. There were pants and skirts and all sorts of things. She showed some of the old jewelry that she had collected or been given over the years. It was all lovely and well made. I described some of my favourite pieces from my collection. She showed me some of her holiday decorations. One of them had "from Gary and Cory" written on the bottom. Gary was her grandson and he had died of cancer nearly a year ago. His funeral card was on her mirror. I looked at the birthdate. He was only a little older than me.
  I saw a dress hanging in her bedroom. She told me that she had dropped some strawberries on it and would have to have it cleaned. I was pretty sure I could get the stain out.  All I needed was some white bar soap. We found some in her bathroom and I went to work. After a little scrubbing I thought I had got it out. It was hard to tell. I put it on a hanger for her and hung it in her bathroom.
  I wanted to stay and listen to more stories and enjoy the atmosphere of her lovely house. Unfortunately I had things I needed to get done. I gave her a hug and a kiss on the check. I decided that I was going to adopt her. I could always use another grandmother. Besides that I hadn't her all her stories of St. Paul.  She had told me that she wanted help sorting some things. My next visit would be spent doing just that. I am looking forward to it.