Lunch With my Grandparents

I wish I had words that would live up to how incredible my Grandparents are.  I don’t, and I often feel like I am doing them a disservice when I talk about them.  No one could really understand the blessing they are in my life, unless they had also been a blessing in your life. I am also completely aware that there are probably a lot of grandchildren out there who feel this way about their own special grandparents. Seriously, though, mine are the greatest.

This weekend we braved winter storms and bad weather to make a trip to see them.  I learn new things about them every time I am there.  I know it sounds selfish, but I love the time I have when I go up for the day and no one else is around but us. I don’t have to share them and I am able to hear every word they say in their soft-spoken voices, and I sit in the chair and listen intently and soak in the essence of them because I know they won’t be around forever.

My Grandfather has spoken more to me about his service in WWII in the past few years than he has in my whole entire life.  The wisdom that he possesses is endless and I always come away having learned something new, something incredible and something that increases my awe at his character.  I am so proud to be the granddaughter of a WWII veteran. I will never tire of hearing him talk about his time as a Marine. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude for his sacrifice. It is a debt that can never be repaid.

As disease and dementia have slowly taken over my Grandmother’s body over these last years, my heart has ached and my eyes have cried tears with her every step of the way.  She has good days, she has bad days. I was so lucky because Saturday was a great day.  She was the Billie everyone knows and loves all the way to her core.  She made jokes, she told incredible stories of days of old, she recalled ancient memories in her mind like it had never lost its sharpness and she filled my heart with new memories to carry with me as I left.

We talked about the rising cost of living, the fire that took their home, what it was like to come home from the war and even child rearing.  Grandpa told me he remembered when “50 dollars bought you a car you could rely on.”  I learned that Grandpa’s first car was a Model A Coup. It looked something like this:

He told of going to the mountains and driving around (our version of “mudding”) and getting it stuck.  He left for the war and when he came home, there was not much left of his beloved vehicle he left behind.  He told me that was a real tragedy because, “I didn’t even have a car to go sparking!”  To this statement, Grandma smiled slowly and her eyes held years of memories and love for her husband. I’m guessing she got over the no car thing.

As our visit was coming to a close, Grandma asked me when we were going to have a baby.  She thought she was up to 98 great grandchildren (which it is really only 82 but I didn’t correct her) so I told her I supposed that I would just hold out and wait to have great grandchild number 100.  My husband piped in and said, “OR we could have twins and that would be number 99 AND 100.”  I chuckled and said that Grandma would never wish such a thing on me. Once again, that smile and sparkle in her eye came forward and she said, “Oh yes, I would.”

After we had been there a few hours, Grandma’s coherence started to fade.  She spoke of a few things that were silly and nonsense.  Grandpa put his hand on her leg and said, “It’s time for your nap, dear.”  So, my always loving husband helped to get her into bed.  While he was doing so, Grandpa looked over and me and told me when she gets tired and starts to talk like that, he just doesn’t know what else to do.  Then, in a moment that stopped my heart and focused my world, he said, “But, I endure it here, because I just CAN’T leave my bride.”

Love like that, it’s real and it’s strong and it’s true.  It is something to seek after and attain in this life.  I cried big heaping sobs behind my sunglasses as we drove away. I cried for 20 miles.  When Doug reached over and put his hand on my leg, in a quiet gesture of support and understanding, I cried even harder because I am blessed with a man who I know will also never, ever leave his bride.  So I shed tears, for the memories I have, for the new ones we made, for the people they used to be, for the people they are now, for a love that I know will last an eternity, for the example they are in my life and for my own selfish fear of losing them in this world.

See? I told you they were amazing.