The Breakers Walk Is Hard To Do

This year my Nana, a fireball of a woman, had a birthday that ends with a ZERO. I’m almost 48, so please do the math; she doesn’t like it when relatives blab her age. Anyway, right around the birthday, she invited me to go on a senior bus trip to Newport, including a luncheon cruise, a mansion tour and shopping. She had to send in the check and it wasn’t cheap, so if I wasn’t going to make it, Nana needed to know now.

She had me at hello; I couldn’t have turned her down if I’d wanted to. Good thing I didn’t want to. So, I planned my summer around the early August date. In the three months between the birthday celebration and the Newport trip, the accumulation of her birthdays became increasingly impossible to ignore.

Even though she has kept earning her fireball reputation a long time, the past few years I’ve had to let go of my denial that she can go on like this forever. In addition to a gradual overall processing and memory slowdown. The signs of aging glare at us. The TV blasts at high volume, and she’s watching more Mayberry and Bonanza and less Rachel Ray and Emeril. See, she used to cook along with Rachel and Emeril. Now, she’d rather go out and let waiters flirt with her. That’s when she’s taking a break from QT in the recliner.

After the bus ride, we were dropped off about a block from the marina. From there, we walked to the dock. No problem for me, but a bit of a hike for these seniors. I slowed down for Nana, and she kept up with me, no complaints, but she was ready for a chair when she got to one. Nana didn’t know many of the people there, but we were lucky enough to sit at a table with six very kind women, two retired nurses, one with a friend, the other with her sister, as well as a mother and daughter. I was easily the youngest person on this trip, and I guess Nana was the oldest, making her a “Senior Senior”.

The great thing about traveling with someone with hearing loss is they don’t readily pick up on other people’s complaints. Nana just smiled and took in the whole boat ride. And other than snow, we had just about every type of weather on the three hour tour. I heard moaning, whining and complaining from so many other passengers. “The bathroom is too small; why is that other table going up to the buffet next? when are we going to get our turn? the drinks from the bar are HOW much? Do we have to tip these people? I want a comment card!”

Twenty years ago, Nana probably would have found some fault, but this day, everything was just beautiful as far as she was concerned. The food was great; there was plenty of it (she didn’t hear the mad scramble to refill the trays just before our table - the last one - was invited to the line). After lunch, she zigzagged around a tight dining cabin out to the open bow to just watch and soak in the air and sunshine. “This is such a good day, Lissa.” I agree, but I couldn't talk her into buying the cruise photo. Ah well, we stayed together on the bow until we docked, and I will take that memory with me forever. That was what she really came for. Just a boat ride, some sunshine, and a little breeze.

The walk back to the bus tested her stamina, but there was a Newport Mansion on the itinerary, and off we went. This time, the buses had to park even further away, and Nana decided “if you’ve seen one Newport Mansion……….” Well, ok, but the bus had to shut down, meaning no air conditioning, and really, no air!

“You go. I’ll be fine”

“No way, I’m not leaving you. And we have to get off this bus.”

“Whatever. Why did we have to park so far away?”

Cathy, one of the very kind women at our table let us borrow a walker she brought for her mother “just in case”. Thank you, Cathy! It was slow going, but we found a few nice places to sit, some shady, some sunny. The weather cooperated with us, all day – we were never out in the rain or thunder, and there were quite enough of both.

Apparently, the indoor mansion tour requires audio equipment, and the ability to respond quickly to directions. Missing a step can get a tourist confused, lost, off-balance. Nana wasn’t having any of it “Let's just find me a nice place to sit”. Another one of the kind ladies at our lunch table made sure Nana had some room on a bench in the shade of a European Beech. No complaining, just smiles. “Go, you go in.”

I did leave Nana just long enough to use the restroom in the mansion. During the long walk from Nana’s bench, I prepared myself to be dazzled by gold and crystal faucets, marble countertops, whatever else rich people install in their bathrooms. I definitely anticipated palatial facilities.

Turns out, Nana was right. If you’ve seen one…………..