My grandpa is taping the baseboards in the hallway, preparing to paint the walls. I am making breakfast in the kitchen. He makes a noise, like a grunt. Something like ugh or grr.

I hear him make the noise and ask, loud enough for him to hear me in the hallway, “Are you alright?”

He says, “Oh yeah, I just have to make noises every once in a while.”

I laugh and ask, “Just a reminder to yourself that you’re still there?”

He says, “Oh no, I know I’m still here. I can feel it.”

I laugh again.

He is referring to the pain he feels in his joints, I think.

Originally written: April 7, 2021 @ 9:40 a.m.