埃莉诺不知道奶奶怎么了，她十分健忘，她会忘记糖放在哪儿，何时付账，连何时来接她去买日用杂货都会忘记。
“奶奶怎么了？”埃莉诺问妈妈。“她显得忧伤迷茫，还总记不住事，可她以前做事总是井然有序的。”
“奶奶只是年纪大了，”妈妈说，“她现在需要许多的爱，亲爱的。”
“变老会是怎么样？”埃莉诺问，“每个老人都健忘吗？我会吗？”
“不是所有人都这样，埃莉诺。奶奶可能是得了老年痴呆症，所以，才这么爱忘事。我们也许该送奶奶去敬老院，在那里，她可以得到更好的照顾。”
“噢，妈妈！那样不好！她会非常想念她的小房子，不是吗？”
“也许会这样，但我们没有别的办法。在敬老院她会得到很好的照顾，还会交新的朋友。”
埃莉诺根本不赞成这个主意，所以很伤心。
“那我们能常去看她吗？”她问。“即便她总忘事，我还是想和她—起聊天。”
“周末我们可以去看望她，”妈妈回答，“还可以带一件礼物。”
“比如冰淇淋？奶奶喜欢草莓味的冰淇淋！”埃莉诺笑了。
“好吧，就是草莓味冰淇淋了！”妈妈说。
第一次去敬老院看望奶奶，埃莉诺想哭。
“妈妈，差不多所有的老人都坐在轮椅里。”她说。
“如果不那样，他们会摔倒的，”妈妈解释道，“好吧，见到奶奶时，你要微笑着对她说她的气色非常好。”
在被称为阳光客厅的一个角落，奶奶独自坐着，眼睛望着窗外的树木。
埃莉诺拥抱着奶奶。“看，”她说，“我们给您带来了您最爱吃的草莓冰淇淋！”
奶奶一语不发地拿着盛冰淇淋的纸杯和小勺吃了起来。“我认为她吃得很开心，亲爱的。”埃莉诺的妈妈以肯定的口气说。
“可是她好像不认识我们呀。”埃莉诺有些失望地说。“因为她现在在新环境里，需要调整。你得给她一些时间适应，”妈妈说。
但是，第二次，看望奶奶的情形同样如此，她仍旧不言不语吃着冰淇淋，向她们微笑。“奶奶，您知道我是谁吗？”埃莉诺问。
“你是给我送来冰淇淋的小姑娘呀。”奶奶说。
“是的，可是我也是您的孙女埃莉诺。您不记得了吗？”她边问边用胳膊抱住老人。
奶奶微笑了一下。
“记得？我当然记得。你就是那个给我送来冰淇淋的小姑娘。”
埃莉诺突然间明白奶奶大概再也不会记得她是谁了。奶奶独自生活在一个充满孤独和模糊的记忆的世界里。
“哦，我多么爱您，奶奶。”她说。此时她看见奶奶的脸颊流下一滴泪水。
“爱，”她说，“我记得‘爱‘。”
“你看，亲爱的，”妈妈说，“奶奶想要的就是‘爱‘”。
“那么，每周末我都要带着冰淇淋来看她，拥抱她，即便她不认识我。”埃莉诺说。
毕竟，记住爱比记住某人的名字更重要。
Eleanor didn’t know what was wrong with Grandma.She was always forgetting things，like where she put the sugar，when to pay her bills，and what time to be ready to be picked up for grocery shopping.
“What’s wrong with Grandma？”Eleanor asked.“She used to be such a neat lady.Now she looks sad and lost and doesn’t remember things.”
“Grandma’s just getting old，”Mother said，“She needs a lot of love right now，dear.”
“What’s it like to get old？”Eleanor asked.“Does everybody forget things？Will I？”“Not everyone forgets things when they get old，Eleanor.We think Grandma may have Alzheimer’s disease，and that makes her forget more.We may have to put her in a nursing home to get the proper care she needs.”
“Oh，Mom！That’s terrible！She’ll miss her own little house so much，won’t she？”
“Maybe，but there isn’t much else we can do.She’ll get good care there and make some new friends.”
Eleanor looked sorrowful.She didn’t like the idea at all.
“Can we go and see her often？”she asked.“I’ll miss talking to Grandma，even if she does forget things.”
“We can go on weekends，”Mother answered.“We can take her a present.”“Like ice cream？Grandma loves strawberry ice cream！”Eleanor smiled.
“Strawberry ice cream it is！”Mother said.
The first time they visited Grandma in the nursing home，Eleanor wanted to cry.
“Mom，almost all of the people are in wheelchairs.”she said.
“They have to be.Otherwise they’d fall，”Mother explained.“Now when you see Grandma，smile and tell her how nice she looks.”
Grandma sat all by herself in a corner of the room they called the sun parlor.She sat looking out at the trees.
Eleanor hugged Grandma.“Look，”she said，“we brought you a present—your favorite，strawberry ice cream！”
Grandma took the Dixie cup and the spoon and began eating without saying a word.
“I’m sure she’s enjoying it，dear.”Eleanor’s mother assured her.
“But she doesn’t seem to know us.”Eleanor was disappointed.
“You have to give her time，”Mother said.“She’s in new surroundings，and she has to make an adjustment.”
But the next time they visited Grandma it was the same.She ate the ice cream and smiled at them，but she didn’t say anything.
“Grandma，do you know who I am？”Eleanor asked.
“You’re the girl who brings me the ice cream.”Grandma said.
“Yes，but I’m Eleanor，too，your granddaughter.Don’t you remember me？”She asked，throwing her arms around the old lady.
Grandma smiled faintly.
“Remember？sure I remember.You’re the girl who brings me ice cream.
Suddenly Eleanor realized that Grandma would never remember her.Grandma was living in a world all her own，in a world of shadowy memories and loneliness.
“Oh，how I love you，Grandma！”she said.Just then she saw a tear roll down Grandma’s cheek.“Love，”she said.“I remember love.”
“You see，dear，that’s all she wants，”Mother said.“Love.”
“I’ll bring her ice cream every weekend then，and hug her even if she doesn’t remember me，”Eleanor said.
After all，that was more important—to remember love rather than someone’s name.
