Patronage

Back in February when we went to the mountains, Gracie and I had the opportunity to take a stroll -- just the two of us. Skip had flown from Knoxville to who-knows-where; Lauren had displayed the beginnings of a stomach bug, complete with vomiting in the car on the way to drop Skip at the airport; Grammy was taking a nap with Lauren back at our accommodations.

Gracie, who was showing no symptoms whatsoever and, in fact, had energy to burn, was up for a walk through the village. We took off on foot. After a while, we ducked into some type of dough nut shop so that I could satisfy a craving for hot chocolate. Gracie opted for an M&M cookie and a bottle of water. She looked like such a young lady making her selection, and really savored her treat.