Grandma is a diva!

With preparations for my mother’s birthday party in full swing yesterday, my daughter Victoria, taking note of all the attention being lavished on the occasion, declared “Grandma is a real diva”. I agreed wholeheartedly with her, and pointed out that grandma deserved to be so. This came back to me when I was reading the thank you speech that Mummy wrote for her party. She acknowledged a long list of “caregivers” – doctor, housekeeper, night carer, manicurist, hairdresser, masseuse, Tai Chi teacher, spiritual guide, drivers – all with their various duties to perform to keep Daisy hale and hearty at 90! “Team Daisy” I term them.

As I mused on Grandma’s newly titled status, I pondered on the meaning of this word “diva”. A diva is a very talented female performer, usually of the operatic milieu. Over the years, the term has come to be associated with behaviour that is seen as demanding and tempestuous, sometimes unbearingly so. Divaness is often met with rolled eyes and barely veiled tolerance. While the talent is recognised and celebrated, the imperial behaviour leaves much to be desired. Nowadays, the term is even more commonly used to refer to any female, talent or not, who displays such behaviour.

As I pondered Victoria’s comment, and my own bemused response, I wondered about the applicability of this term to Grandma! A grand female singer she is not, and she is certainly not tempestuous nor demanding. So I consulted the trusty dictionary and found that the Latin meaning of “diva” is “goddess”, the word being the feminine of “divus” or “divine”.

Ah! That’s it! Grandma is a goddess! Grandma is divine! That’s what Victoria was seeing; that’s what her “team Daisy” pampers and cares for everyday; and that’s what her family and friends celebrated at her party last night and into the wee hours of this morning, her 90th birthday! Yes Victoria, Grandma really is a diva – as she deserves to be!