We finally got to our hotel last night at 1:45am California time - that's 3:45am Minnesota time - and collapsed in our beds. M was still wide awake and wanted to go swimming at the hotel pool, but I convinced him that Mommy would be unable to accompany him, so unless he wanted to swim all alone (and naked - I forgot the swimsuits) he would just have to go to bed like the rest of us.
We spent the day with Peter, Lori, Jack, Wanda, Kristi, Becky, Danny, and Grandma in Antioch, wandering around Grandpa's childhood home and visiting the sights (Marsh Creek) he said he wanted to see one last time if he ever got out of the hospital. M wanted to know if Grandpa would be meeting us there (because he "really wanted to see him again"), and I told him "yes, in spirit, but you won't be able to see him." He seems to be a little freaked out that people can just disappear, and I guess I can't blame him for that. It kind of freaks me out too. It seems so weird to be here without having Grandpa around - everywhere I look I see something that reminds me of him. I imagine it's the same for Grandma - only about a thousand times harder. Despite that, we did have a good time today. We had some good laughs, a couple moments of raillery, we shed a few tears, shared a lot of stories, gave some hugs, and in the middle of all this I realized that it's going to be okay. I will always care about my family, I will be sad when they are sad, and suffer when they suffer, but I didn't feel like today was about sadness. We memorialized Grandpa in our own way, in a way he would have very much enjoyed, and I am glad I was able to be a part of it. Thank you Becky and Danny for arranging the trip for us. I did get some great pictures of the family today, but I seem to have misplaced my camera...what is wrong with me lately!?!
My little boys were so amazingly good the whole day today. It would have killed me as a child to ride around a city I didn't know anything about, looking at an empty area that used to be someone's house (who I didn't even really know), but M, E, and T were extremely cooperative. They walked when we told them to walk and they rode when we told them to ride, and then they fell asleep on the way home so we had a nice quiet ride. I fully expect them to all behave like monsters tomorrow - and that's okay because after two days of good behavior - they've earned that right.
1 comment:
I'm so glad everything went well. I'm really sorry to hear about your Grandfather, but I can tell you will all remember him fondly and continue to tell his stories for years!
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