My Grandpa turned 102 today. Here he is with a cake my cousin made for him, he's so cute.
He is my last grandparent.
Today we were in the city where he used to live before my Grandma broke her hip and they had to leave their home with its upstairs bedroom and move up North to live with one of my uncles. So I wanted to stop by their house, and maybe send Grandpa a pic on his birthday.
As we were driving down the street I was commenting to Doug about how few original homes remained as the homes were being torn down for these mansions on the small, but wonderful close to downtown, lots.
And then we pulled up....
It was gone.
And I got out and stood by that fence and just started sobbing.
I'm not even sure why.
It's just a house and they haven't even been there for nearly 10 years now. For a now mostly wealthy area, it was a small house built in 1901, and I kept thinking one of these days when I'd drive by this is what I'd find, but I was shocked all the same.
My grandparents bought the house a few years after they married, they raised 8 kids in that house, my grandpa built an addition on the back, I lived there a good almost 10 years on and off as I watched it for them when they went to Florida for the winters and as I went to school and figured out life. So many fun memories of racing down the streets with my cousins and playing in the backyard. It seemed so huge back then, and looks so teeny now with the trees ripped out and the house gone. So many family dinners around the dinner table and people crammed into the living rooms. Parties at "grandma's house" in my college years. So so many good memories.
I think I felt extra sad because now I don't have either of my grandparents' homes to look at anymore. My mom's side my grandparents' home burnt down in a fire, with my Grandpa Arthur inside.
And now this one is gone too. And Grandpa is my last grandparent, I'm lucky to have had him this long, I know. Doug said to me, he hasn't had any grandparents in over a decade now.
Anyway, I was just feeling sad. I know I must have a picture of it somewhere, but for now all I have is this one off zillow where you can see they haven't powerwashed it in forever, and after 100+ years the front steps were now starting to slant, I don't know what those people did to it to let it fall into such disrepair. My grandpa always took such good care of it.
Anyway, just feeling sad. Missing my Grandma who's been gone 5(?) years already, but feels like much longer since she battled Alzheimer's for a long time. Life feels very bittersweet sometimes.
I need to make a plan to go visit him again. We went up last October for a quick visit and I love seeing my kids spend time with him. August was so excited to teach him to use his Nerf gun. He can almost relate better to him, I find myself struggling to know what to talk about with the age-related memory loss and he can't really follow a conversation much anymore. But I still love to see him and just like to be there.
Happy birthday Grandpa.
I know he longs to be in heaven with Jesus and my grandma, so I hope someday soon he will, but I also think it's so neat he's still here.
