Grandparents

My two-hour roundtrip drive to my grandma's hospital bedside has given me quiet time these past few weeks.  Quiet time is something this momma doesn't have frequently, as my days are filled with the busyness and noise of two little girls. Lots of noise. Lots of busyness.

The first few times I drove to visit, I relished in the quiet, allowing myself to blare the radio to MY music,  catch up with MY friends. It felt very selfish but on some level it was needed. After my first or second trip to visit, my drive changed. The route remained the same but my thoughts shifted outside of myself and onto my grandma. My grandpa. My grandparents as a whole.

There is no doubt I was blessed in the grandparent department.  At Mommo's bedside last night, I shared with her how much I appreciated that it felt like they were always there for me. Despite her weakness, Mommo shared with me that her grandchildren were their top priority, and she is so glad that I felt that love that they worked so hard to show. You see, my grandparents weren't wealthy. They had the physical limitations of my grandpa, who in most of my memory zoomed around on a motorized chair. They didn't have a big house, and it wasn't full of toys. They did have time. And boy, did they share their time with us. Mommo and Poppo dropped everything for us, all the time. They were always available and truly made me feel like I was their most important priority, despite having other grandchildren.

I vividly remember being a school-age child in the nurses room, waiting for the nurse to call a guardian to pick me up. Both of my parents worked, but I smiled knowing that my grandparents would be there in just 30 minutes.  Only as an adult can I truly appreciate this flexibility and willingness to drop whatever they were doing to come and get me, sickness and all. As a child, they were my safety net. The constant in my ever changing world.

Frequently my grandparents traveled with us. We visited Florida more times than I can count, frequenting Disney World and many of the beaches. We took day trips to visit their friends or take the Packard to a car show. We always returned to a favorite motel in Gatlinburg and hunted Easter Eggs throughout the National Park. One year I woke up on Easter morning in a different state (not sure which vacation that was) to the feeling of jelly beans being thrown at me. My grandma and grandpa laughing out loud as they chucked the candy our way. Looking back, traveling with two young children was likely a costly endeavor, in time, money and patience. But there were no complaints, not even a mention of money. For they were doing what they cherished. Simply being with us.

One year my grandparents surprised us by renting an RV for a trip to Florida, to make our drive more comfortable and enjoyable. Inside the RV were toys, books and games to make the trip go faster, and I will never forget the enormous bed in the back where I laid down and took naps, while we were driving! Traveling was the best part of vacation, well almost ;)

My grandma shared with me last week that minutes before my grandpa passed, he shared a regret for never having fulfilled a promise he had made me at the age of 4. We were at Cedar Point together and even then I was full of adventure. Unfortunately, my height didn't match up to my adventure level and I was vastly disappointed I couldn't go on the adult roller-coasters. Poppo had promised to take me back when I was old enough to ride. We never made it back to Cedar Point together, and given it was the only promise not fulfilled, it had haunted him for many years.

It is only now that I truly understand just how much my grandparents did for me as a child, and even as an adult. They never made a promise they didn't keep. They were constantly there for me, even just to pick me up from a play-date or chauffeur me around. They never complained about it. Never pointed out how busy they were or what they could have been doing instead. If they said they would be somewhere, I knew they would be there.

I can't capture every memory, every detail, every way they shaped and influenced me, likely without even knowing it. I do know that I have developed have high expectations for the grandparents of my own children. After all, I've come to expect a lot...as my grandparents were phenomenal, and set the bar high.