My Grandma just turned 80. She's changed a lot in the past five years. I decided to just surprise her so she wouldn't have to feel the anxiety the entire time I was driving down. I was pretty sure she'd be home since she doesn't drive anymore.
I got there at 5:00 pm and saw her in her bedroom. Her window was open so I said "Knock Knock! Hi Grandma!". And she had a confused look on her face and then said "Jay?".
It took her a while to understand that I was there, and WHY I was there. She asked about a hundred times "Now, why are you here again?". And I told her over and over "I just wanted to come see you! I miss you!". And then she'd smile happily and gratefully - each time.
So we chatted for a while and she offered me candy every five minutes (that is what she lives on, literally). Her very favorite are Werthers. There were about a hundred wrappers all over her house! I finally convinced her to go to Vons to do some grocery shopping. We spent over an hour there walking (slowly) up and down every isle. She went there thinking she needed one thing, and $90 later we had a cart-full! I was so happy to take her shopping for once. She's done that about a million times in my life for me, so it's time to repay her a little! Half of the cart was filled with treats - Werther's, Nestle Dibs, Klondike bars, Famous Amos Cookies, Popsicles, chocolate covered cashews....no kidding! That's my Grandma!
By then it was 8:00, but Grandma wanted to go out to eat. She said over and over "If you ask me what my favorite thing to do is, I'd tell you it's going out to eat!". So we went to Mimi's Cafe and got some yummy soup and bread. I took her back home around 9:00 with the intention of leaving soon to head back home on my 3 hour drive. But once I started cleaning out her fridge, doing dishes, making pancakes for her to freeze, cleaning her bathroom and kitchen floor....it was after 11:00! By then she kept saying "Jamie, you CAN'T drive at this time of night!", so I called Tucker and decided to stay the night with her. I think she liked that. In the morning when I woke her up, she said "I thought I was dreaming that you came last night! But you're really here!".
I actually found a cute shirt and skirt in my Grandma's closet (imagine that with our 50 year age gap!) so I decided to accompany her to church. I got to see my Uncle Mike and Jill there too, since they are in my Grandma's ward. It was fun to escort her around. She proudly introduced me to everyone, but she got a little confused at kept saying "This is my daughter Pam!". My Uncle Mike said "Mom, that's not Pam, that's Jamie!". Grandma looked at me and said "Noooo, that's Pam!". She then proceeded to ask me at least 50 times the rest of the day how old I was. I'd always make her guess first. Sometimes she'd say 30, other times she'd say 50 (yikes!). She'd have bouts of confusion like that throughout the day, and then she'd come back around eventually.
She started calling me "Kristy" or "Janae" (Kristy's middle name) a lot on Sunday. So finally I said "You can call me Kristy if I can call you Floraine or Sally" (her sister's names). She laughed and laughed at that and finally resumed calling me Jamie.
After church she wanted to go out to eat again, so we went to Marie Callendars. She said "I don't know why Mormons think it's so bad to go out to eat on Sunday! I think it's so much more work to go home and cook your own food!". Too funny. I reassured her that we weren't doing anything wrong and it was a special day for us.
It was so special for me to go and serve my Grandma and spend a special day with her. I felt so nurturing of her the whole time I was there because I was flooded with memories of how much she has served others her whole life. She is one of the biggest influences in my life and I am in awe of how strong she is. I miss her how she used to be. I miss her making us breakfast, taking us shopping, putting logs in the fireplace and keeping an immaculate house. But I am so thankful to still be able to make special memories with her. I'm hoping to make this a more frequent service project!
Me and Grandma at Vons
Grandma is such a good sport with my constant picture taking!
Our soup at Mimi's cafe
Grandma and I at Marie Callendars
Fireworks - every night at 9:30 at Disneyland (grandma lives a mile away)
On the way to church, there is this HUGE tree trunk. Look at the size of it next to the white car. It's incredible!
Grandma was pretty good at getting in and out of my van!
A final self-portrait of the two of us!
13 comments:
that makes me cry, how wonderful of you Jay! I wish I could go do that for my grandma. You are the best grandaughter for it! You are serving her, and at the same time, with memories like that trip, you will not regret anything when she is gone. I just think that is so special for both of you!
I can't even tell you how this post made me feel. I am grandmaless and it is harder than I ever imagined. You will never regret going and helping your grandma right now. I am so glad I did that this year- even with three kids hanging off my legs and feeling stressed to the max.
Jamie! I love how you acted on your impression and went to see your Grandma! What a special memory you will have and your Grandma is lucky to have such a caring granddaughter! You are my idol!
What a cute Grandma you have. It is so important to enjoy all those moments with her. Wish you would have gotten a picture of your sunday outfit. She must be one stylish lady! You amaze me with your endless energy. Sorry I forgot to ask you how your trip was today. It was a selfish conversation on my end.
Well, at least now I know you can live to be 80 and make it there eating candy for every meal! That was nice of you. I wish I could hop on over to my grandma's house, but it takes a little more planning to get to the east coast!
That is very sweet of you. I bet that your Grandma felt like a Princess for a day. When my Grandma was alive we would surprise her also and she absolutely loved it. I too am without my Grandmas and am so glad that you were able to have such a special time with her.
What a sweet post! I do that with my gramma whenever I can as well :)
That sounds like so much fun Jamie and you will never regret spending the time with her. Take advantage of every chance you get to do it because one day all too soon she will be gone. It was fun to see you over the holiday even if it was a short visit.
That made me get teary! What a special gesture Jamie! Wish I could do more of that with my Grandparents. So glad you insisted on taking pictures!
You are great Jamie! My grandma is happy when I call her every now and then. She'd probably have a heart attack if I showed up on her doorstep! Good for you for having such a great relationship with her.
ok, i just got done getting all updated on your fun posts! what a special, special visit that must have been for you and your grandma! i need to be better at making time for things like that, because those are the memories that will really matter. it was SOOOO great to see you over the break and it looks like you guys had an absolute whirlwind blast, as always! thanks for making time in all that you guys were busy with to hang out! it means a lot! love ya!
I was just able to catch up on your fun Christmas vacation posts. This is an incredibly touching post. I love that you just followed the prompting and drove all the way down to visit Grandma. I hope your cousin can read this post. I've been meaning to visit Grandma and haven't seen her in a while. I think I will visit her tomorrow afternoon- just Mikey and I :) Grandma is lucky to have a granddaughter like you!!!
you are so great at giving service jamie. i am sure you made your gmas year just by doing what you did. thanks for your example!
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