A Visit with Family

My Grandma has not been doing very well lately. She has something related to Parkinson's, and she appears to be going downhill fairly quickly. I had wanted us to go down to see her and Grandpa right before Christmas, but it worked out really well for us to visit on Saturday instead. My parents have been rotating with my aunt and uncle (Daddy's sister and brother) going every three weeks to help Grandpa take care of Grandma as well as to help out with other household and outdoor chores. Since we went this past Saturday we got to visit while my parents were there, and everyone enjoyed the kids especially.

Darrin had planned to go with us, but he had a lot of work that had to be done before Monday, his first day back from vacation, so he stayed home to get it done while the kids and I were out of the house. I had not driven to Huntsville in a number of years, and although I knew the way I took a couple of detours by mistake. The first was just because I went into "la-la land" and zoned out. I totally missed the MAJOR intersection where I was to turn off the interstate to take the highway. As I began driving up the mountain I started to question myself, "Am I supposed to go over the mountain on the way to Huntsville?" Instead of calling Darrin I kept driving. Once I got over the mountain and to the next city I pulled off realizing that I had gone too far. I checked the map to be sure, and sure enough, I had driven 30 minutes out of the way, so we tacked on an extra hour to our road trip. By this time it was lunchtime. I had a cooler of food for the kids since I knew they wouldn't eat the meal that my mom had prepared for us, so the kids ate while I drove. Joshua fell asleep 30 minutes before our arrival, which was just enough to keep him happy during our visit.

The other detours, going to Huntsville and leaving Huntsville, were very minor and were just because I could't remember exactly where to turn off. At least we got there in time to enjoy the family, and they weren't ready to eat until about the time we got there anyway.

Grandma is not very responsive and she is unable to talk, but she is coherent and tries to express herself in other ways, such as through pointing. I wasn't sure if she remembered Rebekah and Joshua, so I took the time to explain who they were. She seemed to enjoy watching them play.

Prior to our visit I had told Rebekah that Grandma's mind isn't working very well and that she is not able to walk and talk and do many things that Rebekah can do. She told me that she would give her a hug and make her feel better. And that she did. She hugged her several times, and although Grandma was unable to hug her back I know that meant a lot to her.

Once the kids discovered the wheelchair (of course, Joshua did first because it has wheels!) they took turns taking a ride around the house and then a couple laps together.





Joshua and Grandpa really enjoyed each other for a few moments.





Once Joshua got the phone Grandpa told Joshua just not to call France!



Grandma and Grandpa used to go square dancing all the time. Grandma even made their dance outfits. I remember as a kid staying a week with them during the summer and going with them to watch them dance. Although this isn't square dancing here Grandpa is teaching Rebekah the "Jitterbug".





I didn't take any pictures of Grandma because I don't want to remember her in this state. She reminds me a lot of what Mama Bea (my other grandmother) looked like the months before she died. Instead I want to remember Grandma how she was before she was diagnosed with Parkinson's.

Grandma surprised me with two wonderful responses that I was not expecting. After we finished our lunch Grandma was still working on her food. (It takes her about an hour to eat.) Rebekah walked up to Grandma and told her, "Grandma, you need to eat!" Grandma didn't hear her, but when someone repeated it to her she laughed. It was good to see her laugh.

Also, when we left to go home I gave Grandma a hug and kiss and then Rebekah came over and hugged her. Grandma wrapped her arm around Rebekah and held her tight for a long time. Rebekah just hugged her back. It was the sweetest thing!

I know it meant the world to both Grandma and Grandpa that we visited them. I just know I need to make a point to visit them more often.