Miss Subtlety

When we were growing up, our Sunday afternoons were normally spent at our grandparents' house.  Grandpa occupied the front porch and Grandma could either be found in the kitchen or her room.  It was Lyn's habit shortly after our arrival to head out to the back porch to scope things out.  The back porch was an addition off the kitchen.  It was enclosed and not really a porch in the way you might think of it.  The back porch is where my grandparents stored their kitchen linens, their canned goods and some of their pantry items.  Most importantly for Lyn, the back porch is where the cookies were kept.

Grandma kept two types of cookies in the house.  They were either the large, soft oatmeal ones from the grocery store or they were cookies she made, usually chocolate chip.  The oatmeal ones were Grandpa's favorites.  Lyn would locate the cookies, get Grandma's attention and state "Grandma, those are my favorite cookies."  Lyn never asked if she could have a cookie.  She just pointed out that whatever cookie was available was her favorite.  Grandma would, of course, understand what Lyn was saying and  direct Lyn to get permission from Mom before getting a cookie.  There was an exchange of looks between Lyn and Mom and then Mom would chuckle at Lyn's subtlety while granting permission.  This technique didn't always work, but it did often enough to make it worth Lyn's time to try.

All of this is to say that my sister remains Miss Subtlety.  I called Mom last night to see how their day in the Bosque went.  It went well.  They saw two Bald Eagles and that was the most exciting part of the day for Lyn. While I was talking to Mom, Lyn kindly whispered to Mom "She's tired.  You should let her go."  It was a gloriously subtle attempt to get Mom off the phone.