Joan

I'm not quite working just yet. Wanted to write a bit about Joan - the other woman I've been seeing for the past 2 years. She's roughly 90 years old and a holocaust survivor. We see each other as often as possible - she lives just a few blocks away. Mostly homebound if no one to help her with the doors in her building - I enjoy spending a few hours a month walking, talking, and sitting with her. She likes watching me climb on the playground monkey bars.

We're to see each other again tomorrow morning, but don't think we'll be headed outside. I think her health has not been on the up side lately. So, we'll likely sit and talk in her apartment. She'll offer me a mini juice box and I'll sip it. She'll ask me about my days and I'll ask her about her time in Germany and what it was like moving to NYC without knowing a soul. She often repeats the same stories, but they become more and more incredible each time. What she went through, what she became, what she now has. It's all amazing. She came to the U.S. without knowing English, became a dentist, and raised a beautiful family. Now widowed and three hip operations in, her young self screams out with wit and wisdom.

I'd like in the future to write down some of her stories. Maybe I'll post them here.