Last week there wasn’t much travel involved with work, however we traveled back home to see family and to celebrate my Grandma Char’s 80th Birthday.
What does a birthday signify? Yes, we get one year older and of course when you are young that is all you want to do is get older so you can experience adult things. When I was young I just wanted to be able to do things like drive so wished my time away as I’m sure most of us did. I hear my daughter say “mom I wish I was older so I could stay up later” but again always telling her that getting older comes with more responsibilities and that not to wish her precious time away. Birthdays are a part of life but I think I am to the point where my birthday is just another day and it makes me a little sad because knowing I become a year older means the people I love are also getting older like my parents and grandma Char.
“SURPRISE”!!! We tried to surprise my grandma for her 80th and I’m not sure how surprised she was but the look on her face was priceless. As I sat and looked at her from a distance, I wish I knew what was going through her mind at that second when her family was there to love and cherish her? She kept telling us not to have a party but I think we all knew that she would love it once she saw all of us. I can still remember the sites and sounds when we had her surprise 60th at the farm and what a fun time it was even though I was only 13 years old.
What does getting a year older mean to her? From my perspective turning a year older has been a huge transition for her as she moved off the farm and had to get use to a strange place. She has been having a rough time since moving off the farm and I’m not sure I blame her. Of course, as we get older our brain likes to play games on us and we tend to not be as sharp as we once were and some call it dementia others just a part of getting older. I have been watching that confusion come over her like a tidal wave and not being able to explain it. In certain ways I know what she is going through as our minds become this shell of what they once were and it is hard to figure out how to get through it, however with her I’m not sure there is a way out. It has been pretty hard on all of us as my grandma is a person who lights up a room when she walks in and is always willing to strike up a conversation as I remember the days just going to the local grocery as we would be there for hours. I can see remnants of those moments but they are harder to come by and see on a daily basis. I heard comments “Don’t worry she won’t remember tomorrow anyway” on that day and I know it wasn’t meant to be vicious but it made me think even more. Is this what getting a year older means and maybe instead of looking at it that way to try and understand how hard this is on her? I can feel her pain……(tears falling).
Grandma Char is one of the reasons I am who I am today and definitely have that close bond with her. Her birthday was an amazing day and I was so glad I could be a part of that big smile on her face. Leaving her is never easy as I know I will see her again and hopefully will be able to throw her a 90th Birthday Party but the tears always flow on the drive back. I can picture her sitting there alone and the quiet that surrounds her… Happy Birthday Grandma Char, We Love You To The Moon And Back!
Music lately has been country as I listen to it more when I’m around my grandma and some of these I can relate to, so enjoy.
There’ll be days your heart don’t wanna beat
You pray more than you breathe
And you just wanna fall to pieces
You pray more than you breathe
And you just wanna fall to pieces
Somebody’s Hero: Jamie O’NealShe’s somebody’s hero
She’s somebody’s hero
A hero to her mother in a rockin’ chair
She runs a brush through her silver hair
The envy of the nursing home
She drops by every afternoon
Feeds her mama with a spoon
And that smile lets her know
Her mother’s smile lets her know
She’s somebody’s hero
She’s somebody’s hero
A hero to her mother in a rockin’ chair
She runs a brush through her silver hair
The envy of the nursing home
She drops by every afternoon
Feeds her mama with a spoon
And that smile lets her know
Her mother’s smile lets her know
She’s somebody’s hero
There’s somethin’ about that generation
These days I think we need ’em
More than we ever did before
But they don’t make ’em like that anymore
These days I think we need ’em
More than we ever did before
But they don’t make ’em like that anymore
Bonus Track: To honor the amazing talent Prince
Until Next Time……………………………..
My Little Chick!
Traveling With Jo 