The Grandmother at the Water Park

At the water park this summer, my kids and I watched a grandmother, at least eighty, climb to the top of the tallest slide. She was wearing a bright floral swimsuit and a pink swim cap with rubber flowers.

The teenage lifeguard at the top looked nervous. She patted his arm and said something that made him laugh. Then she lay down and went.

She shot out of the bottom of that slide like a cannonball and came up laughing, her swim cap askew. The whole pool erupted in applause. My kids cheered louder than anyone.

She climbed out, adjusted her cap and walked right back to the stairs. She went down that slide six more times while we watched. My daughter said, "When I'm a grandma, I'm going to be like her." I said, "Me too."