Day 267 - Saturday August 6, 2016
Day 267- Saturday August 6, 2016 (Grammy)
Today is the 30th anniversary of my maternal grandmother's death. She died at 68 years old on 8/6/86. Hows that for a number baffle? I still think about her on occasion. Always sitting in her recliner downstairs smoking her Salem cigarettes, while my grandfather was upstairs in his 'den' watching TV and listening to his single earphone plugged into his single speaker radio all while eating his 'small bowl' of ice cream in his recliner. Evident multitasking happened then too.
Being the oldest in the 70's I used to be able to spend Friday nights with them, usually watching Bosom Buddies, Silver Spoons, and finally entertained by Diff'rent Strokes (whatchu talkin bout Willis?). I even remember when they showed the G-force cartoon on Friday nights while staying there. Cartoons were for Saturday mornings, not Friday nights--how awesome was that? The trips to McDonalds, then Hills Dept store on the pike for my HotWheels car, then home for some ice-cream and to hang out and watch TV with grammy before ambling off to bed in my "own" bedroom. Such a cool thing to not have to share a bunk with my brother.
I went there all the time, rambled down the gravel alley on Friday nights around 5PM, (because that's when Merrill liked to eat--'don't drink your milkshake first Robbie, that'll ruin your appetite') then had to work it in shifts when my siblings got a little older. I have a pic of her somewhere, most recently a pic of her taken from the video dubs when Granddad always acted a little goofy on the 8mm. I really remember good times when I got to hang out with them.
She idolized us back then-we were her whole world, then we moved to Florida in the summer of 1984. I to this day think it killed her--the heartbreak of not having us there, being a part of her life so much. My mother told me as I was older that she never really told her the three words together "I and Love and You." Of course she knew she did, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to hear it all together. Heartbreaking? maybe, but for us, I believe that's why mama always tells us and texts us that. One of the things you do as good parents is try to fix the way you were raised, by removing the bad things, and emphasizing the good things. It always makes us feel good to get those texts and hear those words from mom--dad too, even now that we're in our mid 40's and she's in her early 70s.
My grandmother died of a heart attack this date in 1986. We were planning on flying up to PA in three days. Dad, Karen and Kevin were already there when it happened, deciding to drive up the week before. She was stabilized, on the gurney in the hospital in intensive care. Must have chosen the light after seeing the world from a different place. You never forget the calls. You never forget what you're doing when you get those calls and have to suddenly grieve, then grieve in a car ride for 18 hours wondering what will happen when your vacation turns into a process of grief and a funeral. But--this too shall pass, as much as it can, but I still think of ya Grammy, not all the time but once in a while. Hope all is well up there with Merrill, and hope you're enjoying the ice cream and cream coffee in your green plastic cup. "I love you" and cherish the time we had together.
On a better note, I played with snapchat a little bit to remove my sadness of this day in history. I do like to make my kids laugh, in the most Merrill kinda way.
Today is the 30th anniversary of my maternal grandmother's death. She died at 68 years old on 8/6/86. Hows that for a number baffle? I still think about her on occasion. Always sitting in her recliner downstairs smoking her Salem cigarettes, while my grandfather was upstairs in his 'den' watching TV and listening to his single earphone plugged into his single speaker radio all while eating his 'small bowl' of ice cream in his recliner. Evident multitasking happened then too.
Being the oldest in the 70's I used to be able to spend Friday nights with them, usually watching Bosom Buddies, Silver Spoons, and finally entertained by Diff'rent Strokes (whatchu talkin bout Willis?). I even remember when they showed the G-force cartoon on Friday nights while staying there. Cartoons were for Saturday mornings, not Friday nights--how awesome was that? The trips to McDonalds, then Hills Dept store on the pike for my HotWheels car, then home for some ice-cream and to hang out and watch TV with grammy before ambling off to bed in my "own" bedroom. Such a cool thing to not have to share a bunk with my brother.
I went there all the time, rambled down the gravel alley on Friday nights around 5PM, (because that's when Merrill liked to eat--'don't drink your milkshake first Robbie, that'll ruin your appetite') then had to work it in shifts when my siblings got a little older. I have a pic of her somewhere, most recently a pic of her taken from the video dubs when Granddad always acted a little goofy on the 8mm. I really remember good times when I got to hang out with them.
She idolized us back then-we were her whole world, then we moved to Florida in the summer of 1984. I to this day think it killed her--the heartbreak of not having us there, being a part of her life so much. My mother told me as I was older that she never really told her the three words together "I and Love and You." Of course she knew she did, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to hear it all together. Heartbreaking? maybe, but for us, I believe that's why mama always tells us and texts us that. One of the things you do as good parents is try to fix the way you were raised, by removing the bad things, and emphasizing the good things. It always makes us feel good to get those texts and hear those words from mom--dad too, even now that we're in our mid 40's and she's in her early 70s.
My grandmother died of a heart attack this date in 1986. We were planning on flying up to PA in three days. Dad, Karen and Kevin were already there when it happened, deciding to drive up the week before. She was stabilized, on the gurney in the hospital in intensive care. Must have chosen the light after seeing the world from a different place. You never forget the calls. You never forget what you're doing when you get those calls and have to suddenly grieve, then grieve in a car ride for 18 hours wondering what will happen when your vacation turns into a process of grief and a funeral. But--this too shall pass, as much as it can, but I still think of ya Grammy, not all the time but once in a while. Hope all is well up there with Merrill, and hope you're enjoying the ice cream and cream coffee in your green plastic cup. "I love you" and cherish the time we had together.
On a better note, I played with snapchat a little bit to remove my sadness of this day in history. I do like to make my kids laugh, in the most Merrill kinda way.
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