A Close Call

Warm donuts in hand, we arrived at our location and began navigating through the hospital building. As my grandpa reaches for the elevator button, I nearly stop him in his tracks. Instead of pushing the elevator button, he was a couple centimeters away from pushing the elevator emergency button that would have summoned the fire station. He chuckles at his near accident. I then ask him to act out what just happened so that I could snap a picture. He continues to laugh as I capture the moment. I assume that mistaking the two buttons was because he couldn’t see the small label, an honest mistake susceptible to the visually impaired. But instead of becoming discouraged at his diminishing abilities, we were able to laugh together. I love being able to lovingly joke with him about these things because it makes the harsh realities seem more lighthearted. His carefree spirit reminds me that there is much to be grateful for even as time takes its toll.