I love where we live because I can walk to three different coffee shops. When I have 30 minutes to spare, I go to the farthest one, with 25 minutes to the closer one and 20 minutes takes me to the nearest one.
Yesterday as I set off to grab a cuppa, I ran into a petite and silver-haired neighbor walking her super cute dog named Coco. Naturally, I had to stop to pet the pooch. Coco took to me after a bit of outsized grandstanding. The neighbor, I’ll call her “N”, has a beautiful French accent and infuses her English with that special way the French say “r”.
N was delighted to join me for coffee and get her ekhsuhsayz.
Half-way to the shop, just as the sun started to beat on us, N casually dropped a bomb: she is 84 years old and Coco is 11. I stopped in my tracks. Could N get dehydrated? Will the dog make it up the hill? Do I have my phone in case I need to call 911? I felt totally responsible for this monumentally ill-thought invitation.
As we walked, N told me her life story. She came to visit in 1977 and then came back and stayed. She was born in the south of France, but is more Parisienne than a country gal. She lived and worked in DC for decades and misses the hubbub of the city.
At the coffee shop, I continued to be concerned about N and asked her gently whether Tarun should pick us up.
She laughed and said, “You ah wohrhied I am ahtyfohr!”
Of course, I thought, but said it’s the heat I am worried about. Then I told myself to shut up and respect her judgment.
Coco with a limp in her back legs, N with a kick in her step and me keeping a close eye on both made it safely back to our homes. By the time we said goodbye, I was totally inspired: inspired by how well N takes care of herself, how she cares for Coco, how she has made a home so far from her roots and still moves with ease between the two cultures and inspired by how she doesn’t let her age interfere with her mind.
Next time I get coffee, I will be sure to ring N’s doorbell and hope she can join me. May the universe bless N and Coco and may a bit of their joie de vivre rub off on me.
Comments