She is called Granny Love...
From the time Everett and I met, I can remember visiting his grandparents on Sunday. It isn't every Sunday but it is usually on a Sunday. Papa Love passed away 15 or so years ago and we miss him greatly.
For about the last 4 or 5 years we've watched his grandmother's health and physical condition deteriorate quiet a bit. That is hard to watch but what is harder to watch is the deterioration of her mental capacity. She hasn't gotten to the point of not recognizing us but she has gotten to the point of asking the same questions over and over again. We don't mind, we just keep answering them over and over again.
She is always very happy to see us when we visit and always seems more concerned with how everyone else is doing rather than being concerned for herself. I took the picture above when she was in the hospital a few weeks ago; she was posing and giving her best smile because I was sending that picture to Everett who was offshore at the time.
On today's visit we also got to visit with her sister Julia. When Julia visits on Sundays she brings lunch and lots of stories. She keeps Granny Love company and keeps both their minds going with lots of questions about people they used to know and old relatives. It's always about "Who was so and so married to?" or "How many kids did they have?" Julia also asks questions about my family because she remembers my father and his parents. On this visit she shared with me a story about my mother that someone had told her, a story that turns out to be false. I filled her in on the facts and we agreed that one should always consider the source when being told certain things.
Today's visit was hard for me. I love Granny Love as though she were my own grandmother. She has always welcomed me and never sat in judgment of me. She understood that when Everett and I were first married we were both teenagers and thus the decisions we made, good or bad, were made by children. Over the years she and I have had many talks and shared many things about our lives with one another. She has been an inspiration to me mostly because of her love and devotion to her family and her faith. Her favorite saying is "We do what we can" and that is all any of us can do. Ultimately we just do what we can live with because when it is all said and done you will have to live with any and all decisions you made.
I look forward to those Sunday visits....
My visit on this Sunday worried me more than usual; maybe it was the look in Granny Love’s eyes. It worried me so much that the next day I paid her another visit before going home after work just to make sure she was ok. She seemed a little better than the day before so maybe I was worried for nothing at her age it is hard to tell. Julia wasn’t there today but I do look forward to the next time we get to visit again.
Like I said I look forward to Sunday visits....
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