the First Part and the Last

We were just visiting Little Z's great-grandma, Mumsey. Little Z really took to Mumsey, and it occurred to those of us in the in-between ages how much three year olds and ninety-somethings have in common. When Mumsey was gone for ten minutes, and Little Z asked where she was, we said,

"Mumsey's in the bathroom." Little Z nodded with perfect understanding. She sometimes takes ten minutes in the bathroom, too. When Mumsey was gone again,

"Where Mumsey?" asked Little Z.
"Mumsey is taking her nap." She nodded again. Little Z takes a nap, too.

They both have their special programs on the television ("Dora the Explorer" [Little Z] and "The Price is Right" [Mumsey]). Neither of them eats much. They both enjoy puzzles. They both have this sort of altered sense of time that's different from the rest of ours, a little bit slower, a little bit more apt to watch things happen. They both need help opening vitamin bottles. They both like cutting things out of the newspaper and sometimes gluing them to paper. They both go to bed early. And, of course, they're both very sweet natured, though that has not much to do with being very young and very old, but just enough about being them.