Wednesday, April 22, 2009
okay folks, i'm not sure if you know it, but today is the 4th annual 20 something blog swap. basically, you get paired with another 20 something blogger, switch blogs for the day, and the rest is history! this is my very first year and i am super excited! i'm switching blogs with minD, and here she is:
MinD from A MinD in MoTown – http://amindinmotown.wordpress.com/
A MinD in MoTown’s GiST
Today I am most grateful for my grandparents*.
For the longest time, I never stopped to consider that having all four of my grandparents** alive was abnormal. But then I was repeatedly told how strange it truly was as I grew older and older. Now, at the age of 23, I couldn’t be more grateful that they still remain on this earth today though it took a dose of reality for me to entirely appreciate that fact.
For the longest time, I never stopped to consider that having all four of my grandparents** alive was abnormal. But then I was repeatedly told how strange it truly was as I grew older and older. Now, at the age of 23, I couldn’t be more grateful that they still remain on this earth today though it took a dose of reality for me to entirely appreciate that fact.
I always considered myself lucky, blaming their existence on a family tree that just won’t die. I mean, only one decade ago, I still had four great-grandparents alive and kicking. That number has dwindled to one over the years, yet I’d never found it bizarre to be in the minority.
And then the Reaper began knocking; his presence looming over their lives, making me finally realize what I had to lose.
My great-Grandma Pearl – my father’s grandmother, 90+ years old – is going both blind and deaf. When we speak on the phone, I’m yelling so loudly into the receiver that my neighbors can likely hear me from the house next door. On Easter she says to me, “I saw a yellow car and hoped it was you.” Even 500 miles away, that brought a smile to my face, and a tear to my eye only moments later when I remembered how far I am and that any day I may wake up to the notion that I’ll never see her again. In times like those, this distance is difficult to bear.
And then there’s my grandfather – my mother’s father. A man who would pick me up from daycare each day as a child; the one who taught me how to play video games; the person who introduced me to the Internet and forced me into typing correctly; the most loving patriarchal figure I’ve consistently had in my life. His prostate-cancer diagnosis a few months ago caused me to step back from the family tree and realize how quickly those branches could fall. Sure, his form of cancer is one of the most curable, which provides us all with a sense of hope. But he’s 74 years old and undergoing radiation treatments. I feel like just yesterday, he was 60 and invincible … then I do the math and discover how long ago 1935 truly was, noting that he’s moving swiftly toward the current average male life expectancy of 75.15 years***. Without a doubt, I’m not ready to lose him to the afterlife just yet.
Only a few years ago, I took my time with them for granted. It seemed perfectly ordinary for my grandparents to be alive and well. And then, seemingly overnight, their health depletes and the number of years ahead of them diminishes – as it does for us all. Is it a shame that this is what was needed for me to appreciate and enjoy what time there is? Very much so, but it makes me more than grateful to still have them in my life – albeit, physically far away – for whatever years, months, days or hours remain.
So today, they are the ones I’m most grateful for and they’re more than my “grace in small things.” After all, I wouldn’t be here without them.
* I’m typically not this melancholy and serious on my own blog, but I suppose this blog swap posting brought out that side of me. Eh, it’s bound to happen occasionally, right?
** Actually, if you factor in my step-families – both of my parents are remarried – I have three additional step-grandparents. Tell me where else you might find a 20-something with the odds stacked so greatly in her favor?
*** That came from Wikipedia – based on 2008 figures – so it could be entirely inaccurate, but let’s not ponder that too much and move back to the post at hand, ha.
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Wishing your grandfather the best darlin'.