1 My Gigi

My grandmother chose to be called G.G. (after Grandmother Goodman) and I adapted that to Gigi! She has been an integral part of my life and we are two peas in a pod! She is 88 years young and acts like a 21 year old. . . minus the binge drinking! Gigi is a social butterfly and you have to make plans with her WAY in advance or she will be booked with parties, bridge, plays, movies, trips, etc. A perfect story about Gigi is one she told at lunch on Sunday. The fire alarm went off in her condominium and the building turned the elevator off. Well, Gigi was hosting a party at Cafe Annie, the flowers were in the car, and she needed to get to the restaurant! So, Gigi walked down the 5 flights of stairs so she could make it to her party on time! That is VERY Gigi! She has helped make me the person I am today. From the Junior League to culture, nice restaurants and trips all over the world, I am forever indebted to her. To sum up Gigi's personality. . . today, we spent most of our time together discussing her 90th birthday party!

I went to lunch with her today at "our place" (Barnaby's)! After she received her massive hamburger and fries, she turned to me and said that Pops would have been 95 on Sunday. Pops was my grandfather . . . not by blood but by everything else! We talked about how he was planning a trip (at 89) for him and me to go to Antarctica because that was the one continent he had never been to. We remembered how he used to slip the grand kids 20 dollar bills under the table! It was good to talk about what an impact he had on both of our lives and relive some of our fondest memories of him!

I dropped Gigi off with a date set for us to go to tea at the St. Regis! (one of the reasons we are so alike!)

In looking back over our lunch, it amazes me how much one person has effected my life in such a positive way! As I told her today, she has aged gracefully and with vim and vigor! I only pray that I can be half the person she is when I am 88!