MountainMornings

Ada reminded me on our Mexican holiday that a good friend of hers once called her “insatiable.” She’s also referred to herself as a “pot stirrer” in Yiddish, which I think means she likes to keep her spoon in everybody’s pots. It keeps things bubbling and cooking away – a good quality for a marriage and family counselor.

Our first night in Cabo, many of the passengers who were on her flight out of Newark, paid homage to my MIL at the table. She has a knack for meeting people, and coaxing out of them their deepest secrets. I was aware that she tried hard not to engage everyone at the resort, and instead concentrate on her family and friends.

But it’s almost like that show the “Medium,” a Long Island woman who walks into a deli and hears from dead people. She can’t help herself, the Medium’s psychic self invades every aspect of her day. For Ada, her therapist self is so much a part of her identity, it kicks into gear almost immediately. Every person has a story to tell, and she’s an excellent listener.

You can see how this trait is passed down. To Bob who has a third eye and ear, (remember how he spied KERF at the airport?) who is either a great multi-tasker or an incredibly well adjusted adult with ADD. To the Bride, who in preschool was “helping” all her little friends with their art projects; so much so that the teacher asked me to have a talk with her. Maybe it didn’t help that Ada offered a dollar bonus once elementary school started for each check mark on the behavioral side of their report cards…this was for the presumably negative  act of raising your hand too much and talking out of turn. Grandma Ada wanted to encourage such things. Get those pots boiling!

And to my little Love Bug who would sit on the steps in the pool and point her little finger at me, then point it down right next to her and say “Sit!.” Not easily distracted, she is a tiny dictator of the sweetest variety. As we walked in the sand on the beach saying “Ocean” over and over again, I could see another insatiable spirit with her Great Grandmother’s eyes. I fully intend to keep up the tradition of the pot stirrer report card!

Ada says “YES” to life. She is incapable of being satisfied or appeased, the definition of insatiable. She wants to take it all in, experience everything that life has to offer. I had trouble keeping up with her in Cabo. Granted I was under the weather, but even when I’m feeling fine my 90 year old MIL can run, or walk, circles around me. On the day of her birthday party, many of the men went deep sea fishing and came back with a 20ft marlin. The chef at the hotel prepared the delicious fish three ways, along with a Mexican birthday cake.

While the guys and one gal were fishing, the Rocker drove Grandma Ada, Hudson and some of the women, including me, into another town for lunch and sightseeing. We saw the Hotel California, a street festival, and wild horses running in the street. It was an enchanting afternoon. And wouldn’t you know, Ada and Hudson met and immediately befriended a couple from Texas who went to Baylor, Hudson’s alma mater. I’m sure they’ll be visiting them on their next trip to NY.

So when people ask me what’s Ada’s secret, it’s simply this. She continues to be engaged and active, to learn and to love, to keep her spoon moving. She is our treasure.