The Little Rascal

My mother related this over dinner. She called Gracie a little rascal and spoke about how Gracie insisted on changing her spectacles. My mother has a pair of reading spectacles in addition to a pair that she would wear when out of the house. That is to rectify slight shortsightedness. Some time Gracie ago had noticed that my mother would wear spectacles occasionally. Gracie has this funny thing for maintaining things as they were. So she started insisting that my mother put on her spectacles when at home. Gracie also discerned that there are two different pairs of spectacles. My mother had told her that one is for reading and the other is for looking at the bus or train. Gracie corrected her saying, one is reading newspaper (because that is all that my mother read around the house) and the other is for looking at Gracie. That brought much mirth to the family.
So that day, as my mother was telling me, Gracie interrupted her reading, patiently folded up the newspaper and spoke my mother to change her spectacles. She said, "No, no, no. This is for reading newspaper. Go wear the pair that is for looking at Gracie!"
It is a good thing that Gracie has endeared herself to my mother. After my father passed away, my mother was staying alone by herself. She refused to move in with me or any of my brothers. At 70 years old, she still want to continue working as a cleaner at a school. My mother only stayed with us when my wife suffered severe back pain which was later diagnosed as "slipped disc". My mother stays with us during the weekdays to take care of Gracie while my wife recovers. Initially, she took a month's no-pay leave. Later, she quited when her supervisor objected to the leave. I can tell that she missed going to work and hanging out with her friends. Thankfully, Gracie more than make up for what she lost. It took a while before Gracie warmed up to her. Previously, Gracie would cling to me or my wife and would not allow anybody else to carry her. Nowadays, Gracie would walk up to my mother whenever my mother is preoccupied with some thing, reading or washing up, and clapped her hands. That is her signal for wanting to be carried and hugged. When my mother said she is busy, Gracie would replied that it has been a long time since she was last hugged. That totally demolished any objections and brought a smile to my mother's face. "Little rascal!", she would happily say.