Memories that last

What a great trip!  We arrived pretty late on Monday evening, but everyone slept in Tuesday and in the morning we headed over to see my grandpa and Doris.  We walked over there and my grandpa met us on the sidewalk, a huge deal as this was his first venture out without a walker since his surgery.  We enjoyed just sitting and talking until the kids got cranky and we headed back to the other house for lunch and naps.  It was great to get out and walk in the sunshine with hats and coats!  We went back in the evening for dinner which was also nice.

On Wednesday my grandpa came over to his house while Jon took the kids to the park.  We went through some things in the house and talked about what he would like to see happen to them.  I will be looking into the price of shipping his stained glass materials including a saw and grinder to our home.  I also might look at the price of shipping some of his other tools and a couple furniture items at the same time.  He really wants us kids to have his things and I think we might really use them.  First we need to clean out our garage to see what we have room for.  There's a sewing table with sewing machine that I have my eye on as well, so we'll see how it all works out.  What was great about this visit though was a chance to talk with my grandfather.  I think I got him to understand that we visit with him because we want the memories.  He tried to say that talking on the phone is just the same, but I pointed to James' phone skills to highlight that not being true.  He lamented his vision being poor and his hearing not so great (he lost a hearing aide) and I told him that our reason for visiting is selfish - we want the memory of being with him.  Unfortunately I made him cry, reminding him that family is what matters.  He has decided to move towards selling the house, although backpedaling a little now that Doris looks to be on the mend.  I told him that even if he sells his house I will still be coming to visit him.  I'll never forget sitting in the room and hugging him as we both cried over the idea that he won't be with us forever.

Another great memory from this trip took place on Wednesday night.  Since Sheri (Doris' niece) treated dinner Tuesday, we brought pizza over on Wednesday.  Everyone ate their fill and then we sat around the table talking and the kids played their video games a bit (thanks for both systems Dad, a major life save on this trip!)  As usual, James continued to nibble at food, telling Jon as he started to clean up plates.  He then found the cup of ranch dressing for the salad and put some on his plate.  Shockingly, he didn't make a huge mess.  He proceeded to dip his pizza into the ranch and take a bite.  My grandpa then commented on this and James offered him a bite.  It was the cutest thing in the world to see him try to hand my grandfather what was left of his piece of pizza.  Grandpa said no, and told James his stomach was full, pointing to the top of his throat.  We had another good chuckle about that at bed time back at the house.  These are the memories life is made of, and time we'll never get back.  I'm sad to think it's possible I may never see my grandfather alive again, but I continue to pray that my kids will continue to make memories with him for a few years.  And I hope that Grandpa will get to meet Tim's new baby in a couple months.

Time to get some rest as it's back to the grind with 2 tutoring sessions and plenty of work tomorrow!