Tale Of Young And Old

It’s funny but it’s true, me and Poppa are friends.  He’s 96 and I am 9.  I live with Poppa in his house, me and my family care for him, we’re not related but I’ve known him most of my life.

Poppa’s very old-fashioned, every day he shaves and always wears a shirt and tie, he doesn’t even eat pasta!  He’s a bit deaf, a bit wobbly on his feet, very forgetful and he gets his words muddled.  Rather than getting angry in frustration he laughs which I think all people should do.

Poppa used to be a farmer and can do a very good pig noise.  He does it, then looks under the table looking for a pig, it makes everyone laugh, especially me.

Pop can’t remember my name even though I’ve told him a 1000 times, so he just calls me “Oi You”.

He beckons me over to read the newspaper with him, the same sentence over and over again until he gets the idea.  Then we move on, “drat, we’ve got loads more”, he shouts.  Thankfully mum comes to the rescue asking Poppa if he wants to go shopping, I offer to come and help. 

Sainsburys is only 20 minutes away and it’s a really beautiful route.  Pop asks where we’re going, after all I did say he was very forgetful.  He pushes the trolley, even though he can’t walk too far he takes off down the aisle super fast!  Mum gets the stuff we need while I take out and put back the stuff Pop’s putting in that we don’t need. Pop sees me and swings the trolley into me, mum tells him off.  Just proves never mess with older people they’ve always got their wits about them!

Me and Poppa like to watch Dads Army together.  I make tea, I know exactly how he likes it,  with a dash of milk and one and a half teaspoons of sugar.  We like Dads Army because it’s funny and it makes me happy when Pop laughs.

I sit next to Poppa at the dinner table. I often find unexpected bits on my plate then I realise this is Poppas unwanted food.  After we’ve eaten, Poppa hands me his false teeth, I giggle and hand them to dad to wash.

I don’t really feel the cold but Pop does so we keep the heating on full blast, it’s like living in the tropics.  It’s so hot I find it difficult to sleep, I lay awake tossing and turning, sometimes I’m awake when Poppa goes to bed at ten o’clock.    I can hear Dad saying “ssssssh,” as Pop opens our door and turns the light on, I lay still, wondering if they realised I was still awake.

We won’t be together for much longer because Pops going to live with his family, I’ll miss him lots.  Living with Poppa has been so much fun, all people should adopt an old person whether their related or not, it’s wonderful.