Losing Our Marbles

On Sunday, the pastor talked about spending our time wisely. He said that Americans have an average life span of about 70 years (and he rounded up to 80 to be nice). He has a jar, full of marbles. 12 for every year between now and when he hits 80. He's 44, so he has another 36 years (that makes 432 marbles). We did the math on our family and:
Dad is 50, so he has 360 marbles left.
Mom has sworn me to secrecy.
I am 23, so I have 684 marbles left.
Grandma turns 80 in 3 months, so she only has 3 marbles left.
We told grandma that in 3 months she would lose all her marbles; too true. We all had a good laugh.

Driving Grandma

In the recent past, I have gone on a couple of road trips with Grandma. Though frustrating, they are inevitably chock full of funny lines and memorable conversations. One weekend I took Grandma to Lake Placid. Just me and her :) My parents were out of town, so I kidnapped her so I could work on the house up there. US-27 is not a bad road; I think people hate on it more than it deserves. It's scenic, and doesn't take much longer than other ways like the Turnpike. Nonetheless, there is this stretch, this god-forsaken stretch, when one gets off of/passes by I-75 and heads north towards Lake Okeechobee. There is nothing to be seen. And I'm sorry, but a person could go crazy with nothing to look at or say or do. So, what does one do when bored and with the company of grandma? (hehehe) I would say something obnoxious like: "I'm so tired (yawn). I think I'll take a little nap. Can you keep an eye on things for me?" This might not have been a big deal, were I not driving at 70 miles an hour. She said no, but I went ahead and closed my eyes. *wink wink- I only closed my right eye. Within seconds, she was pounding on my right arm, insisting, "Anne Marie! Open your eyes! This isn't funny!"
That got me through at least 5 minutes of boredom. And then I would start all over again. The best part of this story is, when we got back into Miami, she turned to me and said, "Anne Marie, you are such a safe driver; not speeding or changing lanes. Thank you, sweetie."
Of course I just said "Thank you" back. Nevermind that I was thanking her for keeping me awake.