Today the morning went well.
Dad had woken up before I went in to see him.
He smiled and waved.
I gave him his morning meds mixed with apple sauce. His smile widened and he murmured "mhmm"
He turned to the left
then turned to the right.
He enjoyed being lifted out of bed
his shirt came over his head
all through the soap and water there wasn't a peep or complaint.
As I got him ready for the day (also including changing his diaper, putting on pants and shoes, brushing teeth etc) I noticed a picture of my grandparents... his parents lying on his bureau.
I knew the picture well.
There are a few of them like it. In two my grandparents stand next to each other... and my grandfather holds my sister.
In this picture however it is only the two of them
It was taken in the 60's
a plain white background
They stand straight
toward the camera
not close they are separated from each other ... quite a bit actually.
They both wear black (My grandfather has glasses a suit and tie and a white shirt... grandma is wearing a black dress and pearls... she has glasses too.)
Although they stand separate... they are smiling.
My father's smile is their smile
somehow within the stretching of his lips he displays both father and mother attributes.
As a child
whenever I looked at this picture
(and I looked at it often. My grandfather died before I was born and my grandmother shortly after)
I wondered... what are they smiling at?
a joke?
surely not at eachother... they're so far apart
are they simply smiling at the photographer who just a moment before said
"Cheeese" like only a cheesy photographer can...
but here on this morning
while my happy dad
was happily allowing me
to help him
I thought
They are smiling at me
And what if they are
What if through some wormhole
flashback
line of connection (remember my blog about our breathing and the string of breath connecting us to our first breath at birth)
maybe it works with smiles too
and my dad's smile
connects to both their
and my own
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