On Lydia and her love/hate relationship with her grandmother:

Mrs. Baum the elder lived in Germany until her first grandchild was born about 20 years ago. Her husband, and American soldier, had brought up all the Baum children as American, and they promptly left Germany as soon as they went to college. Lydia's father, the eldest Baum child, was no exception. He took his money and moved to New York to raise his family, barely seeing his German mother, because she lived in a far away city called Pierian Springs.

Lydia didn't really mind that she saw her "Oma" only twice a year, on Thanksgiving and Christmas-- that is, until her parents decided that she was to move in with her. Her older brother and sister were in college and the other siblings in middle school, leaving Lydia in the middle. The Baums decided that she was far too attached to her immediate family and needed a change, so off to Oma's she went.

Often, Lydia thinks that she's been sent to her grandmother's house to "watch her die." She's obviously elderly, but she can also be sickly and frail. Many days, she doesn't get out of her pink nightgown. Lydia makes her breakfast every morning and reminds her to take her medication. Lydia hates having to watch over her, acting like a parent to her grandparent. She feels as if she has no one to go to with her problems, because Oma's so out of touch with teenagers.

Other days, the more common ones, Lydia loves Oma. She's allowed all the freedom she wants, sometimes so much she has no idea what to do with it. Oma lets friends stay over on school nights and Lydia can watch television and talk to flowers all evening if she so wishes. When Mrs. Baum and Lydia are the only two in the house, Oma asks Lydia speak to her in German; this allows Lydia to become more fluent, and she feels as if she has a little secret language with her grandmother than not everyone can understand Oma has also become attached to Lydia's boyfriend, because she loves how sweet he is to her and how dorky they can be together. He tends to keep her busy, too, so Mrs. Baum can have a moment's rest.