Memories

I always think of my grandparents during the holiday, especially Christmas. I have many memories of my Grandma and Grandpa from when I was little. We had several Christmas traditions. I don't think that anyone ever set out to develop these traditions, it just seemed to happen. Maybe those are the best kind.

It seems like every year my brother and I spent a Saturday afternoon and evening helping Grandma and Grandpa decorate for Christmas. Ron would go outside with Grandpa to put up lights outside while I helped Grandma make some Christmas cookies or fruitcake, then we would all work on decorating the inside of the house while listening to Christmas carols. They had an artificial tree that you had to put the branches into the "stem" and the branches were color coordinated. I always looked forward to that day.

Another time my brother and I travelled with Grandma and Grandpa from our home in the Chicago suburbs to visit family in Pittsburgh, PA area. I don't remember a whole lot about the trip except for all the car trouble we had. First the radiator got a hole in it. Grandpa would stop along the highway and while the engine cooled off he would walk until he found a marshy area where he could get enough water to fill the reservoir, then off we would go until the car overheated again. Then we would repeat the whole process. On the same trip the muffler came loose and needed a make shift repair along side the highway. This made a very long trip for everyone, especially us kids because it was like 95 degrees outside, we sat on vinyl seats, and Sam, their black Labrador Retriever, kept leaning over our seat and panting and drooling on us!!

I miss those days, but am so glad that I have my memories. I hope that someday my grandkids think back to their childhood and have great memories about Jeff and I.

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa

Jeff and I drove to Tahlequah, Oklahoma this past weekend to visit my grandparents. They are 87 years old and live in a Christian retirement community called Go Ye Village. They are currently in the assisted living wing. We are very happy with the care that they get at Go Ye Village; the nurses and employees are all so sweet and helpful.

We took Grandpa for a pretty long walk Saturday morning while Grandma napped, then took them both to do some errands in the afternoon. While out, we drove through a big state park. Grandpa mentioned that he would love to get out and walk through the woods, so we stopped. Jeff found a mowed fire lane and Jeff and Grandpa took a walk through the woods. (Grandma and I stayed in the car.) Grandpa told us later that he hadn't walked that much in probably 2 years...but he wasn't complaining!!

I have a lot of memories of my grandparents. They lived just a few blocks from me while growing up. Often times we would stop at Grandma and Grandpa's house for this or that and I could always find Grandpa in the workshop in his garage. Then I'd go in the house where Grandma was working in the kitchen to get a cooking from the cookie jar. I have many memories of my Grandparents. In my next post, I'll tell a few of my favorite memories.