Bubbe

August 2020

When you’re 40, it’s hard to give the “my grandmother died” excuse for when you’re out of the office for a few days. Who is lucky enough to still have a grandparent at 40? 

When I wrote the email to my colleagues to let them know I’d be away, I was tempted to say, “everything you like about me - I learned from her.”

But I didn’t have to. They’ve been hearing my stories about  Bubbe for years. Stories about her enthusiasm, her humor, her optimism, her wisdom, her compassion, her tenacity, her prescription for exercise every morning and gin & tonic every night.

It is so easy, so tempting, these days to be weighed down by suspicion and skepticism. But Bubbe saw the best in everyone she met. And everyone she met knew it. She was a magnet for bright hearts and she drew out kindness and laughter from everyone. She embraced new ideas and learning without fear. Every day was an opportunity for delight.

When I am tempted to feel sorry for myself or to shut the world around me out, I ask myself, “What would Bubbe do?” She’d declare, “This too shall pass,” and would recall the marvelous people and experiences that made her life rich, with gratitude. She’d probably sing a line or two of something - loudly, and she’d definitely laugh.

If Ghandi had been lucky enough to know her, he would have said, “Be the Bubbe you wish to see in the world.”