I got to visit my Grandparents with my mom this weekend up in Idaho Falls.
We stopped by the park across the river from the Idaho Falls Temple to enjoy the warm day. The geese would go right up to you. It was actually kind of unnerving. This guy scared himself and my mom when he got too close.
The beautiful Idaho Falls Temple.
This little girl had a full bag a bread that she threw out to the geese. It was cute and nostalgic until she chucked the bread right at the geese and yelled at them. She even kicked one. Crazy kids. 
My grandma Verna and Grandpa Jay are living in a nursing home/assisted living center. They are 86 years old and over the past couple of years their health has deteriorated quite a bit. Grandpa can't walk and is completely blind. Grandma is in a wheelchair and has lost a lot of her memory.
This was at my mom's wedding over 30 years ago.
Getting 2 wheel chairs close for a picture isn't an easy task. We did the best we could. This was the only picture I got with mom and both her parents in it. I should have taken more!
This is grandpa's scouting sash, eagle scout pin, and 2 of his slide rules. Grandpa did so much in his life! He was an electrical engineer which I think is coming in handy for him now as he tries to figure out how to escape his wheelchair.
Something I love about my grandma are her hands. I've only see her a few times in my life, but I always remember her hands. They are soft, smooth, and so delicate. She is so gentle and anything she holds, she hold carefully, even her "widdle bue cup" as she called it.
I love the resemblence of my grandpa in my mom.
I think it is neat to see characteristics of one generation in the next. (I can't quite put my finger on what is common between the 3 of us, but I'll figure it out sooner or later. I do know I wish I had my grandma and mom's pretty eyes!)My mom and I had fun visiting my grandparents. It was one of those experiences where you don't know whether to laugh or cry. We decided to laugh!
- We laughed when grandma thought her roommate was her grandma.
- We laughed when we commented on grandma's pink outfit and she exclaimed, "Whoopy do!" in her cute grandma voice.
- We laughed when one of my grandparents friends dropped by for a visit and he told grandma to sit down before she fell down.
- We laughed when grandpa figured out how to undo his seatbelt and set off his alarm. (Not too shabby for a blind man!)
- We laughed when grandpa told us his next step in getting out of his wheelchair is to figure out how to shut off the alarm
- We laughed when grandma thought she was 68.
- We laughed when after asking me 2 times to see my wedding ring, my grandma said, "This is so embarrassing, but are you married?"
While Grandpa couldn't see that we were there and Grandma might not remember that we came, it was a wonderful weekend and I'm glad I got to go and think of my past memories with them and make new ones too.
3 comments:
That's really sweet that you took the time to go visit them. I need to be more in touch with my grandparents, they are still in relatively good health so I should take advantage of the years we have left! thanks for the good reminder. Glad you had a fun trip with your mom! I loved the picture of the three generations - you are right, there is definitely a resemblance between the three of you.
And I have to tell you how gorgeous Mumphrey is in the pictures - I appreciate it so much more now that I know the work that goes into it every night. ;) Seriously though.
Looks like you had a fun trip!
I will definately be at the alumni game this saturday, I can't wait to play! See you there.
Sweet grandparents-laughing while your with em and crying later works too. My poor grandma had parkinsons, and something else?? can't remember-but her body/face turned into a vegetable-non-recognizable. she could really speak, but there were tears in her eyes when would come to visit.
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