There has been a discussion about Old Age at the World Mythology and Folklore Society . I started that, because I´ve been thinking about that very often. I´m not happy with the way we try to avoid getting old these days. Since I do want to get old, and that means I want to be an elderly lady some day, I´m trying to be prepared for that, little by little.

I only met one grandparent in person. I´m from a later "batch" in my family; my paternal grandparents and my maternal grandmother had already  died when I was born.  My maternal grandfather Edmundo (aka Sr. Cardoso) was a regular at my home. He didn´t live there, but he was always there, filling the house with his heavy and tall physique and his wonderful, loud laugh. He had a bad temper sometimes, but it never scared me. He was what is called a larger-than-life character.

 My brothers and I  truly appreciated his company. We listened to his stories and were always asking him questions, as if he were some sort of expert in life. He loved that. You could tell it by a smile he had hidden in the corner of his wrinkled mouth. He was an old man who loved being appreciated, who never complained of getting old, of not being able to do this or that. He simply tried to find new things he was able to do, and fondly remember the ones he had left behind. Besides, age never interfered with his three main occupations :  crosswords, reading, and discussing politics at the Aquarius Café.

Many people say I inherited his temperament. My father even called me Sr. Cardoso sometimes. As for me,  I´m honored. I just hope one day my grandchildren will appreciate my company. I´ll certainly have a smile hidden for them at the corner of my very wrinkled mouth.

Senhor Edmundo Cardoso, on his 70th birthday. I´m the one with both hands on his shoulder: