Grandparents Rock

Today, my Aunt and Uncle are becoming grandparents for the first time.  I can only imagine their excitement!  I have had the pleasure of knowing all of my Grandparents as an adult.  Knowing your grandparents is one thing.  Being able to experience who they are at an age when you can truly appreciate them is another story entirely. Were I to truly give them justice in this post you would all fall from exhaustion and never read my blog again.  Plus, while he has never dared say so, I know Andy Jones already thinks my posts are too long. 

My maternal grandfather called me the other day to inform me of his progress on a game I sent him a few weeks ago.  That man is sharp as a tack and loves puzzles.  Rush Hour is not to be trifled with and he completed all 40 cards.  I still remember him trying to teach me how to play chess.  He showed no mercy and success was not found in winning but rather in playing long enough he had to stretch his legs when the game was over.  I was rarely successful.  His sweet, playful, fun loving wife is a true treasure.  I can always anticipate her grabbing me by the arms and saying, "Sing to me Leah!  Sing to me!"  She doesn't care what is going on or if strangers may or may not be present.  She isn't particular about genre or the song I choose to burst forth in singing as long as she's there to hear it. This dear lady reads through the Bible every year. 

While my paternal grandfather is no longer living in this world his lineage is very much in tact.  My Papa and his brothers are constantly solving problems and continuing to discuss their outcome even though much time has passed and they are separated by many miles.  I was reminded of one of  this family's long standing traditions as I made a list of projects in anticipation of Papa's visit last month.  My Memaw is the one who married the ring leader and raised the rest.  She uses long gone phrases such as "He's not long enough in the britches" to describe a child and "all told" when gathering information.  It warms my heart each time she ends our conversations with, "Love you big!"  Last Christmas I started a wonderfully long, never ending project for this dear lady  who just keeps on keeping on despite many physical ailments.  The most annoying is Macular degeneration which has left her legally blind.  "Stealing" and reading through some of my Grandfather's old letters left me broken hearted that she could no longer do the same and spurred me into action.  Most of you have already heard my "interview" with Dick Gordon's "The Story" but just in case you haven't the last 5 minutes of this episode tells how I gave back my Grandmother's sight for little slices of time. 

Congratulations Aunt Bud and Uncle Bob!  You guys are going to absolutely ROCK this grandparent thing!  Love you both!