Grandmother and Granddaddy

Posted by Kelly on March 30, 2010 in Granddaddy, Grandmother, Life, Starr, Sunny | 6 comments

My office is a hot mess. I know that there are other areas of the house that need attention, but tonight it was the “family tree” shelf which was piled with books, folders, printouts, notes (letters and notes that my mom took and saved 20 years ago, my notes and documents from my spurts of searching over the years) that caught my attention. I know that I organized it once upon a time, but over the last few years, I’ve pulled information that I failed to refile while at the same time printing new documents that needed to be filed appropriately.

I unloaded the shelf onto the floor of the living room and sat there on the floor with a glass of wine prepared to dig in and fix my mess. My computer and family tree information are on my computer…in the office! It didn’t take me long to realize that I needed to relocate and reassess my plan of attack. At the moment I am tempted to dump the whole pile back on the shelf and find another distraction…I know that I can find one easily.

In the meantime, I found a journal that my dad made during the last days of Granddaddy’s life. Granddaddy was relatively healthy until the end. He kept his mind, but the last few weeks were painful and slow. Grandmother had already lost her mind to Alzheimers. Granddaddy spent his last few weeks in a hospital bed placed in the living room of their home. She thought he was a newborn. Always needed to be touching, tucking or futzing with the “baby”. Granddaddy, when he had enough strength tells her to “sit down! I’m okay.” Dad took note of the general interactions with Granddaddy and he also chronicled a “conversation” with Grandmother…she was talking to herself, in another world. I hope it was a happy one. *sigh* Alzheimers sucks. As does cancer along with many, many other things…such as car accidents!

Granddaddy on his tractor, summer 1999, 91 years old. Off to help a fellow who was stuck in the pasture. I love that smile!

Grandmother, exact year unknown at the moment, with the Starr’s tree. Spring 1990 or 1991 as part of an Earth Day program the kids at Starr’s daycare received “trees”, we brought the sapling to the farm and planted it as a single twig and a few roots. To our surprise, it grew!!

The notebook was a sad read.

Granddaddy passed away August 2002, two days after my dad’s last journal entry. Grandmother passed less than a year later.

I miss them.