Birthday Time & Memory Lane

I don't know about you, but I happen to think relationships with grandparents are one of the best blessings ever. I realize some that may read this may not have had this kind of experience or may have never really gotten to know their grandparents. I was blessed to be able to grow up with both sets of my grandparents until my grandfathers passed when I was in 5th and 10th grade.  I have wonderful memories of them both. I can certainly attest that I've grown to know and love both of my grandmothers even better over the years. 

A few days ago we shared a little about Grandma A and how blessed we are to still have her around this year as she continues to fight Alzheimer's...and so today it's my other Grandma's turn since "Grandma J" had a birthday today and turned a young 81! We always tease her that it is appropriate that she has a July 3rd birthday, right before July 4th since she's quite the little firecracker and full of spunk.

A couple of months ago, Grandma J had a stroke that both surprised and scared all of us and this required her to be in rehab for several weeks. (which originally was supposed to be a few months) To make a long story short, both she and our family thought that she would still be returning home once she was back to most of her strength and we'd continue to have a caregiver assist with some of the daily tasks she's not as able to do as easily.  However, plans suddenly changed and with barely any notice, we were contacted by the rehab center to learn that she was being discharged sooner than anticipated (which was great of course); however, they confirmed that she could not live in her home alone anymore (insert shocking moment here) and we needed to figure something out quickly.  You have to understand that Grandma J is one of the most independent 80 year olds that I know and although she is starting to slow down in her age, she still desired to live alone and would tell you that every day she has prayed for years that God would take her to be with Him before she would ever have to leave her house.  So, obviously, when this news came- it was shocking and also required some very quick decisions needing to be made as to where she would now live and what we were going to do. It's amazing how things in life can change in a split second with hardly any notice. 

With less than a week to make some major life decisions and changes, conversations with her were had and it was decided to move her closer to our family into a retirement community that my mom had worked for in previous years. She was in agreement to this (probably because there weren't but so many options and truthfully, this decision wasn't fully up to her because we knew if it were left to her, she would have just marched right back to her house to live) and so began the process of moving important items and furnishings into the new place and sorting through everything that was left behind in her previous home.

You have to understand that my grandparents had lived in this home for years and it was pretty much where they'd lived the majority of their life together-

and was the home where my dad grew up for most of his childhood. That said, it is full of memories for our family and full of hundreds (well, thousands might be a closer assessment) of interesting items that you don't even realize are within its walls until you are forced to start going through an entire home and getting it "rental ready"- wow, words cannot hardly describe it.  It's certainly tough to know you have to move someone from the only home they've practically known and go through all of their things while they are still living.  It's an odd transition to go through with a grandparent, but one that would hopefully allow for better care for her in the months to come.  

I know my family could attest to this, but going through the house, recalling memories of birthdays, anniversary parties, Christmases, family reunions, and a host of other family events- and knowing those would be no more- were in some ways one of the hardest things we've probably ever had to do. Because we have a very small family on that side and we are the only three grandchildren, we had spent a lot of time here. I had personally spent many nights and days at both of my grandmother's homes while in college as they lived in the area where I attended school, so I also have many college memories of their homes and my friends who came to know both of my grandmothers well. 

I know for me personally, and probably more for closure than anything- I had to take some time by myself walking through her home, looking at the items left behind, recalling so many precious moments spent within those walls... while at the same time realizing we had now spent our last Christmas there, had our last meal there, played our last game of croquet.  It also sunk in that our child/ren in the future would never have the privilege of spending time at this wonderful home, eating those wonderful home-cooked meals we had come to love so much, and would never know this home in the way we as children had known it. 

I'm going to be transparent and say that I had a pretty little meltdown- ok, it probably wasn't really a pretty meltdown (and anyone who knows me well knows that doesn't happen often anyway) right in the living room floor at that moment thinking about all of the wonderful conversations and moments we had lived over the years in that very room. I remembered playing with Grandpa in the basement with blocks he had made for me, visiting my grandparents and helping my grandma with him while he battled cancer, seeing my Grandma write in her prayer journals in that very room where she met with Jesus every morning at 5am, bringing friends over while in college to eat a home cooked meal....certainly this list could go on and on.  

It was at that moment I decided I wanted to capture a piece of those memories- those items and moments that make Grandma's house her home... those little things that I had grown up with that had come to be known as "Grandpa & Grandma's House" so that we don't forget. 

The Entryway to her house...

The Window where many a dirty dish on Thanksgiving and Christmas have been washed by her wrinkled hands or by her grandchildren who wished she would just install a dishwasher...

The kitchen where everyone gathered to cook meals together for holidays...

That was filled with about every type of collectible pineapple item you could imagine-including dishes and pineapple wallpaper...

The kitchen whose cabinets have overflowed with dishes and pots and pans that have fallen on my head (literally)...and of course everytime you stayed at Grandmas, she'd cook a breakfast of grits and bacon using this pan- or when stopping in as a college student would use my favorite pizza pan below to cook a quick pizza...

and I'd grab one of these glasses (which for some reason were my favorites)...

Or maybe grab a Coke or an apple or orange from her apple, orange and soda stash that she stored in this fridge in the basement... (don't ask- this is just what was always in it)

...Then head into the living room to play a game of Chinese checkers against Grandma (and pretty much she'd win every time)

(I think I found 4 Chinese checker sets in the house, which maybe tells me we were onto something far before we decided to adopt from China...LOVE this vintage Chinese checker board)

Or maybe if Chinese checkers wasn't the game of the day, croquet was... and to this day we still don't know exactly how and why it became our game at holidays...it was probably a site to see all these people out in the yard during holidays playing croquet-- when I actually think about it, there are all sorts of funny things I could say, but I will refrain...

Or maybe you'd head down to the basement to play a few games of Ping-Pong during the holidays or when you went for a visit. (yet again, another Chinese sport- I'm telling you, little did we know!)

However, sometimes going to Grandmas wasn't about having fun...it was time to work- and I cannot tell you how many callouses were the result of raking her huge yard (with tons of leaves mind you) with rakes that are antiques...and I'm not kidding-- had to be the worst rakes ever!

Then there were times when Grandpa would go out to mow the lawn or go to tend to his beehives while wearing his little green sun hat...(he was a beekeeper and carpenter who owned his own cabinet/wood shop) 

Which now hangs over the entryway to their porch and has hung here for as long as I can remember....

And then there are his tools which are stored in the basement and numerous that were stored in the garage...

I remember playing with this antique tape measure/ruler as a kid- for some reason I thought it was the coolest thing...

But a trip to Grandmas wouldn't be complete without a tour of all of the collectibles and items stored within its walls or in the basement...

And we thought antique Mason jars were popular now-- she has a house full of them inside her antique cabinet downstairs. (well before they were the "vintage/cool" thing to have around) 

Then there is her large stash of crafts and holiday decor...she loved arts and crafts and taught a life-skills and crafting class for Down Syndrome adults at a training school where she later retired... (I like to think I get my artistic side and love for DIY from her and writing with my left hand from my Grandpa)

One of her Christmas baskets

Of course there are a lot of random things one might also find... A Sewing Machine-

A sausage grinder...

An antique trunk- (what was found in the trunk will forever remain a family secret...)

An antique record player-

A large record collection most of which were my dad's... I thought it was incredibly appropriate that this one below was titled "Down Memory Lane"...

And of course there are Grandma and Grandpa's slides from Niagra Falls, other events, and dad's trip to the Holy Land in Israel...

And of course this rocker that was mine when I was a little girl, but originally was my dad's rocker that my grandfather made... (you will see this rocker again in future posts so watch for it) 

Or the step stool I always used when I went to visit... (this too will show up again soon in posts)

Or my piano that eventually ended up at Grandma's house...

These are the pictorial memories I'll cherish from days spent at Grandma and Grandpa J's house- the pieces that I'll tuck away in my mind and heart and recall from time to time--thankful to have had many wonderful moments spent within its walls.