Grandparents

I'm having one of those blah days. I'm not sure if it's because Ian's sick, again, and we're on day 5 of vomiting and diarrhea. My poor little baby can't seem to stay well this Fall, and I hate it for him. He's so miserable and thanks to 2 of these illnesses, we now know he gets febrile seizures. I'm so glad Oliver's in school today so he's not stuck around the house again being silent so Ian can sleep, while having no escape to get out and go nuts. He's an amazing little 3 year old!

So, to add to my blah day, I realized right now why I'M so blah too. Out of the blue I'm missing my grandparents. They have all passed away now, and it's hard today to feel like I'm no one's grandchild anymore. There's some special love that only grandparents give to kids, even after they're all grown up. As we approach Thanksgiving, I miss Granny and Pa's house. The familiar smell of brownies, fried chicken, and oil paintings. The pretty roses around the house and the whole family sitting on couches without the distractions a good wi-fi connection bring. "Penny for your thoughts?" Oh how I'd love to have a long conversation with Granny right now. Or listen to one of her funny childhood farm stories, or of her teaching stories. To hear Pa make those silly noises with his mouth and rocking in his chair, telling stories of how he made the designs in the carpet with a piece of wood before we came over. The Macy's parade in the background. I would love to watch my boys and their cousin play around with the toys we enjoyed from our childhood Thanksgivings at their house. I'd love for Oliver to go into Granny's garden with her to pick the perfect rose, or watch in disbelief as Pa climbs to the top of a ladder to get the best-smelling, prettiest Magnolia flower. For the cousins to learn the art of the best card game ever, "Battle!" No one can play it as well as Aunt Carolyn. I'm missing a big squishy hug from Granny, and a manly smelling hug from Pa right now. And I wish my boys could know how totally awesome their great-grandparents are. I'm so happy my Oma was able to meet all her great-grandchildren before she passed this past year, but I wish they could've known the woman I knew - the faint smell of coffee through a beautiful thick German accent. Who made delicious spaghetti sauce from scratch and created hours of shadow puppets on the walls. The woman who would practice getting the "Salsa hips" just right in the reflection of nighttime windows with us, and would read the same page of a book all day long because she fell asleep mid-sentence too many times. I miss my grandparents today but am so thankful I knew them so well.