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christmas treasures

this is us with my grandparents. aren't they cute? they are 92 and 90....definitely lived a good long happy life. we gather with them and my mom's extended family on christmas eve each year. this has always been a favorite time of mine and i have so many memories of those nights in their basement. we had a pool tournament that became known as the porter cup, complete with trophies each year. we always had mashed potatoes and noodles. we always had stockings. we always stayed late and laughed lots.
8 years ago, they downsized and moved into senior apartments. christmas eve is now held at my sisters in the same town. it is still nice and still fun. we don't do gifts anymore, just dinner, games, and memories shared. not all of us are there anymore. cousins are scattered across the country and are always missed.
this year, i noticed that my grandparents were aging. this is hard for me, as my other grandma was just always sick. on our way, i told hubby i was struggling with not going to their house anymore. it hadn't bothered me too much before. but they are getting older and i long for the way they once were.
so a few months ago, they needed to downsize more and move into more of a care facililty. as the siblings sorted their stuff, they noticed something about a few items. my grandma loved hummels. i don't know why, but she did. and she had purchased 13 mini hummel plates. she also liked bells. and she had exactly 13 bells. well, i'm the baby in the family and i'm grandchild 13. coincidence? we don't really know, but there was enough for each grandchild to have one of each. so my aunt had us all draw numbers and in order we picked out the plate and bell of our choice. as i stood there and looked i could picture where most of them had been in their old house.
so i have my plate and my bell. i will treasure those pieces greatly....
i love my grandparents. they were so good to us. they would stay with me and entertain me when i visited them. they were so giving of their time and resources. they were always encouraging. i think i took alot of that for granted. i just never thought they would get old.
i don't often make resolutions - i never keep them, but this year, i told hubby with both kids in school and him at home, there was no reason that i couldn't make a monthly visit to them. and so i will - just to give back to them.

Comments

Natalie said…
A lovely tribute to a very deserving set of grandparents. It was sad to stop all the Christmas traditions that had become so engrained in us over the decades. But I'm amazed at their continuing spirit and their contentment with where ever life takes them. I only hope I have their genes for living a long and happy life.
January 1, 2009 at 9:01 AM
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