Day Five

I love old people.  This is a good thing since I am one and getting more so by the minute.

I was blessed to know two of my great-grandmothers… one of them even made it to my wedding… 43 years ago.  She died a short time before the birth of my first son.  Both these beautiful ladies lived with family who took care of them in their last days.

My paternal grandparents died while I was in my teens, but I have wonderful memories of summer vacations spent with them.

My maternal grandparents were two of my favorite people.  In fact, here they are…

Dan and Gladys …they are the face of my 31 Days of Aging Grace.  They each lived well into their 90s… they live in heaven now… and this is how I remember them…

She was one of the most creative people I’ve known.  She composed music, played the piano, painted, wrote stories, poetry and taught ceramics for most of her adult life… and she taught herself to do it all.  Papa was an honest to goodness cowboy.  And he loved Jesus.  There is never a day I don’t think of them.  I have a little more to say about them another day.

When Papa passed away, they still lived in their own home.  And eventually Nany was moved to assisted care because of medical needs.  But my parents, aunt and uncle spent every day of their lives, for years, tending to their needs… taking them where they needed to go… cleaning, doing laundry, household repairs, just visiting, social events.  Whatever needed doing they did.  Because that is how it should be… and because God’s word says so.

When the man and I married, we promised one another to step up when our parents needed help.  And we did.

It turned our lives upside down.

As much as I don’t want to write about this anymore, and I really don’t, there are a couple of things I need to say about the role of caregiving, the cruelty of dementia and unforgiveness.  I’m going there tomorrow.

Please check in and see what’s going on with the rest of the 31 Day writers at The Nester.