A few weeks ago, you two were shipped up to Grandie and PopPops once again for Friday night. I had a year end celebration for work in Concord, NH. My office was the top performing office for FY 08, vs. last year’s numbers and the number two revenue generating office over all. The company thought it would be a good idea to put all of us up in a hotel and have an awards ceremony and casino night. A good time was had by all and Mom and I were out late on that Friday.
The next morning I was off to Grandpa’s and Mom back to Berwick. She was nice enough to take my place at the T Ball trophy ceremony in town. She handed out all of the trophies to the kids and was able to collect some of the last money for the batathon. After this she went up to Gray to join you both on Saturday.
Grandpa and I met my Uncle Jeff and cousin Jeff for a Sox game on this Saturday afternoon. My uncle and I were talking over Easter and we decided to put something like this together so that we weren’t just bumping into each other on holidays. Grandpa and Uncle Jeff both scored tickets from clients at work. Grandpa got great seats about 25 rows from the field and oddly enough there were two empty seats next to us. I think they were the only two empty seats in the whole place. We hollered over the Jeff and Jeff and they were able to sit with us for the games entirety.
Grandpa and I went into the park around 1:30 for a 4:00 start. He said that he has never been to Fenway that early for a game before. We went to Boston Billiards and hung out there until the game started. We all had an awesome time. It was great to talk with my cousin and Uncle about stuff. We mostly talked about my Grandpa. Jeff and Dad told Jeffrey and I some stories that we hadn’t heard before. We got some great laughs and it was nice to celebrate those memories with family. In one of my last entries I said that a few weeks ago I had one of those “Perfect days.” This day had that same type of feeling for me. The day just flowed nice and easy. It was very comfortable and nice to spend some one on one time with my Dad prior to the game. It hardly mattered at all that the Cardinals smoked the Sox. It was actually probably one of the worst played games this season!
The next day, after a short trip to see Nana, I was headed back up North and you three were heading south. You both had a nice time at Grandie's. You took out the boat and played around quite a bit.
During this week Adam, you have started to use the toilet before jumping in the tub. You’ve been so proud of yourself and at this point it’s become your before bath ritual. The other night you couldn’t seem to go and you just stood there confused for a minute. You eventually gave up saying, “It won’t work!”
Unfortunately we had some bad news this week. Grammie (who is 88) was standing on the toilet seat cleaning her bathroom when she slipped off and broke her shoulder and her hip on her left side. Grampie was frantic and called Nana who came down and called 911. This happened on a Thursday evening. I got the call from Auntie Meg when I was playing golf with Chris and Chad.
The next morning I took off work and went up to help Nana as best I could. We spent the day in the hospital with my cousin Kim, Uncle Don and Aunt Cathy. I feel so bad for both Grammie and Grampie. Grammie will be in rehab for a long time and Grampie is learning not to blame himself.
For a few years when I worked in Newton, MA I spent a lot of time with G and G. I played more golf with Grampie in one season than I ever have before or since. I ate lunch with them often and truly got to know them both. Not just as Grandparents but as people. I remember driving home after a visit and realizing that they are people just like us, but that happen too much older. The interests they have haven’t changed too much since they were 20 or 30. Their sense of humor isn’t too different, and they have similar opinions, they simply got old. It must suck to get old. You don’t “feel” too much different mentally but your body just starts to break down.
Anyway, she is in a rehab facility as of yesterday and we’ve all got a bit of a long road ahead.
While I was helping out Nana, you boys, Mom and As, spend the day at Untie Megs and the night at Grandpa’s. Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to take you in with no notice and you guys had a good time. Grandpa and JD practiced throwing marshmallows in each other’s mouths, and Ad reeked havoc as usual!
The next day you came to Nana’s too. You were both very well behaved. We played outside with the Frisbee and baseballs and downstairs with Nintendo. JD, you wanted to try sleeping on the couch on the porch and must to everyone’s surprise, you made it though the night out there. It must have been fun! I was able to sneak in some time with Cauf and Mikey late Saturday night too.
We all left early Sunday and were able to enjoy the day very much. JD and I have been playing “PIG” quite a bit lately with the basketball. Adam, you try and try to shoot your ball high enough into the hoop but you’re not quite there yet. JD, we have done shots standing on one foot, with leaves and sticks on our heads, we’ve used Adams trucks as props, and many other funny ways to shoot the ball.
JD, you also bought a blow up pool recently with some of your birthday money. It’s pretty large for a kid’s pool and its come in very handy during this heat. You helped Mom set it up, which took a while. Adam you still enjoy wearing your swimmy arm things around the house for hours at a time, usually while sporting one of your pairs of sunglasses. It’s quite the sight to see!
Its funny, we live busy lives and we all know that, but over the past two weeks I was able to spend time with my Dad’s side of the family and my Mom’s for two extremely different reasons. Interestingly enough the feeling I had in both circumstances was similar. I can’t really explain it. It was more than just love (a word that means a lot but is overused). It was a sense of obligation and belonging. I remember years ago talking with my Uncle Don over a cigar. We were talking about the last stages of life and he said, “In the end, all you have is your family.” He didn’t say this in a negative way at all, more stating that family will always be there through whatever is tossed at you. At that time I discarded that comment. Back then I talked to my friends about most things, traveled with them and knew them inside and out. Over the years I have seen small signs of what Donnie was saying. I think back on that conversation and I wonder if he might be right.
