Grandparents Day

Today was a good day, but also a little sobering.

We took off early this morning to visit my Grandma Miller and my Grandpa & Grandma Emch, who all live in northeast Ohio. The drive takes a little over 3 hours, and what a pretty drive it was! The autumn leaves that lined the highway for at least half of our trip stood out even more brightly than usual against the rainy gray of the sky.

We met Grandma Miller for lunch at 11:30 (she's in an assisted care facility in Wooster), and stayed for about 2 hours. We've found that is the maximum amount of time 4 young children can last in a nursing home! All through lunch I worried that the others in the dining room would be annoyed with the amount of noise the kiddos were making. They were very well-behaved, but definitely NOT quiet. It was so sweet, though, how many of them came over to say hi to us and tell us how delightful it was to have children around. We couldn't get Malachi to turn around and face the table, and then realized that he was busy flirting with several older ladies across the room!

Grandma showed us her new "apartment" and got out her surprisingly large collection of stuffed cows for the kiddos to play with. Even though she has a lot of trouble walking, she took us down several long hallways to see the brightly-colored birds kept in one of the common areas.

We then headed over to Rittman, to the nursing home where my Grandpa Emch is staying. He had surgery to remove cancer in his bladder several months ago, and hasn't been doing great. There's no telling what each day will bring for him, health-wise. We spent another couple of hours with him, my Grandma and my mom, who is helping her pack up for a move to Columbus next month.

At first Karis and Malachi wouldn't go near him. I think the tubes and hospital bed scared them a little. But by the end of the afternoon, Karis warmed up to the point that she actually played a game with him that involved touching his nose and getting her hand "snarfed." And Moo took every opportunity to tell Grandma & Grandpa that he's now 2, and he had an Elmo cake for his birthday, which Mommy made, and Daddy didn't make it because he had to work. Too funny. And Grandpa may have lost some of his health and memory, but he certainly hasn't lost his sense of humor.

I keep mulling over the day, and I can't help thinking that we need to do this kind of thing more often, and not just with our own grandparents. It was amazing to me just how much just seeing a bunch of crazy, snotty kids can brighten the day for so many people. I think it was good for them, too - to learn about encouraging others by saying hi and stopping to chat a little. They did great today. I was so proud of them.

It's difficult to see my grandparents getting older and more weak and frail. It's difficult knowing that this may be the last day we get to spend with them. Of course, this is true for anyone - we don't know how many days are ordained for us to live - but when someone is very old or very sick, this reality is so much more evident. I'm thankful to have my grandparents, and I'm thankful for all of the older saints that God has placed in our lives. It made for a long day, spending over 6 hours in the van and getting home late tonight, but today was precious, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.