Tuesdays with GRANDdaddy

If Gigi and Granddaddy are in town you can bet your bottom dollar we will be having lunch with Granddaddy. It is just a sweet tradition the kids and I have and I'm so thankful that the kids will have this memory with them for as long as they live. We go have lunch with him because Gigi is a volunteer at the hospital. I think it helps her to know someone will be with him, and she doesn't have to worry. Bless her heart. . . it's really a great treat for us. She does all the work, always fixing us a yummy lunch. . . and we love being with Granddaddy.

I've thought so many times I want to blog about what our Tuesdays actually look like. What a man with dementia/Alzheimer's talks about, what he remembers, what he doesn't, what his mannerisms are, how his social skills are, etc., etc. . . but I'm really not sure if I want to remember these things. Because sometimes. . . well. . . . many times. . . I forget who he USED to be. Every now and again we will catch glimpses of who he really is. . . who he is without this terrible disease that has taken not only his memory but his dignity. I'm so thankful he's not aware of these things.

Sometimes the things he does really makes me laugh. I guess some could chose to get offended or have their feelings hurt, but I know his heart. So, I think I will share those things that make me giggle. . . and I may at times share the things that tug heavy at my heart. BUT, this will be the man I remember.

• The man who wrote me a letter on Jon and I's wedding day telling me how excited he was that I was now apart of their family.
• The man who is my husband's very best friend.
• The man that Jon would always want to call when something exciting was going on.
• The man that Jon would always want to call when he needed advice.
• The man that I would go to to ask spiritual questions, questions about God, life, and how to handle things.
• The man that I would go to the car auctions with. We'd always eat Chick-fil-A Drawf House on the way home and talk about everything and nothing. . . and we'd always manage a laugh or two.
• The man who wanted to pay for me to finish the 8 months of college I lacked completing to get my Bachelor's Degree.
• The man who won the first ever "Citizen of the Year" Award in his town.
• The man who is so humble and gentle. . . never forgetting where he came from and what hard work can accomplish . . . all the while giving the Lord the glory for it.
• The man who has a compassionate heart.
• The man who would write so many people sweet notes. People from everywhere would love when they would get a note from him.
• The man who always asks about my parents telling me, "because you know they are our family too."
• The man who when I greet him greets me saying, "I love you."
• The man who would take Alec to get all of his haircuts and treat him to lunch anywhere of his choice.
• The man who loves sports as much as Jon does.
• The man who gets aggravated with the sports commentators.
• The man who is highly respected everywhere in town.
• The man who has a good reputation.
• The man who never took pride in who he was or who others said he was.
• The man who worked so very hard to provide for his family.
• The man is such a great teacher when their church was without a pastor, many, many members of the congregation wanted and some even pleaded with him to be the pastor.
• The man who made women cry at his "Mother's Day" sermon.
• The man who taught Sunday School and was a lay speaker.
• The man who never wanted much in the way of material things, but would give his family anything.
• The man who thought one of the best treats in the world was a Coke and Snickers bar.
• The man who would ride Alec around in his little truck looking at the birds.
• The man who loved to hear the sound of Ashley gurgling as she sucked her thumb. . . so much so, he asked me to make a recording of it.
• The man who would laugh so hard and get so silly . . . you could see the laughter on his face, yet no noise would come out of his mouth. . . then, we'd all get to laughing.
• The man who was the first one in the room to cry at a sweet movie.
• The man who has literally loved me like his very own daughter. I once told Holly, "You're dad makes me feel like he loves me like he loves you. She replied, "Michele, it's because he does."
• The man who made the best out of difficult situations, who was supportive and showed excitement at a difficult time when it was hard to show support and excitement. . . when it was easier to show disappointment.
• The man who loves his family fiercely.
• The man who loves to people watch.

At Gigi's house you know you will always get dessert. The last few times we've had lunch over there I will see him sneak back into the kitchen when we have all finished eating, and he'll go and hide the rest of the cookies (mostly it will be cookies Gigi has baked when we're over there). If he sees me looking he tells me he wants to put some up for Gigi. I think that's partly true. I think he's probably putting some aside for himself. And, he knows. . . you better do something with them quick when my kids are around or they will gobble them all up. Makes me giggle.

Stories of Old

Every Tuesdays about 11:30 the kids and I put on our shoes and head over to Gigi and Granddaddy's. Gigi has already left to go volunteer at the hospital (as a pink lady). She's so sweet because she has lunch prepared for all of us to gobble up.

Every Tuesday it's pretty much the same thing. I fix our plates, we sit down to eat, the kiddos are all extremely talkative. . . as soon as they finish eating the usually go get the binoculars out of the drawer to go "spying" with. . . or Hanna may go outside to ride the tricycle (I know tricycle. . . cracks me up, but she LOVES it). Anyhoo, they all go their own way to play.

Then, Grandaddy and I sit down and talk. Sometimes he's not very talkative. Sometimes he is. Normally when he is though, he loves talking about the past.

Not the past like when Jon was a little boy past. But the past like when he was a little boy past.

He will tell me the same stories over and over. . . and I love hearing them. So, every Tuesday I'm going to try to tell one or two of the stories he tells me. . . so I can pass them on to my children.

He is one of 6 children. His daddy was a Methodist preacher. They moved around frequently. However, when they lived in Whigham, Georgia he tells of how there was a city-wide basketball tournament. He decided to play in it. There, he found out he was really good in basketball. He said these men would tell him, "I'll pay you a quarter for every basket you ring." Now, if that's not motivation for a kid. . .that will do it. Grandaddy just loves telling this story. Little did he know at the time but his basketball skills would later get him a scholarship to Georgia Southern. (he tells this story pretty frequently)

He also tells of how they were so very poor. He remembers 2 Christmases where they had absolutely nothing. . . not even an apple or an orange (his words). One Christmas, however, they did get a bicycle. He said someone in the church must have given it to his parents or given his parents the money to buy it, b/c they just were that poor. It was 1 bicycle to share between 6 kids. They would each get a turn on the bicycle and have a certain spot they couldn't go past. One time one of them decided to venture past that line. Well, Uncle Jay (who later became a 4-star general of the Army) got so angry he threw a brick at the spokes of the bike. When Grandaddy tells me this story he will just smile and say when he and his brother and sisters used to all get together they would laugh and laugh about this story.

Another Whigham story he tells is how when they would all be ready early for church they would stand outside on the porch of the parsonage and sing hymns.

Also while living in Whigham he tells how the chairman of the board of the church would sometimes withhold his Daddy's check. As tears welled up in his eyes he said, "Now, why in the world would a Christian man hold a man's check who has 6 children and a wife?" He's only told me this story once. I could tell he's held onto it for a long time. His tears and his hurt after all these years just broke.my.heart.

170. For this precious man I have the honor of knowing and loving.
171. For Tuesdays.
172. For stories of old.
173. For Gigi.
174. For plenty.

Billy Goats Gruff Opera

The kids and I spend our Tuesdays with Grandaddy. It is such a special day to me, and I really need to blog more about these days.


Mostly, we just go and eat and talk. But, this past Tuesday we went with Faith and her kiddos to "Billy Goats Gruff Opera".



To say it was great is quite the understatement. Neither she nor I knew quite what to expect because tickets were only $2. There is this place about 45 minutes from where we live and they have shows and plays that range in price from $1 to $2. It was so, so good!!! It was creative. It was funny. The singing was GREAT! It had a good message. It was entertaining. And the fact that it was cheap made it all the better :)

Even Alec liked it. We always love being with the family that shares our last name so I knew we'd have a good time. I just didn't know the show would be this good!

Granddaddy liked it as well. I was glad he went with us. I'm glad we're going back. We all had a great time!!!


146. For Grandaddy.

147. For Tuesdays with Granddaddy.

148. For friends I couldn't imagine our lives without.

149. For cheap entertainment.

150. For a job and a husband who has a job and works hard so we can do things.

151. For homeschooling my children.

Music to My Ears

Yesterday something happened that I honestly thought would never happen again.

I've haven't heard this sound in a very long while and wasn't sure if that part of his brain could any longer perform in this way. . .

On Tuesdays the kiddos and I spend part of our day with Jon's Dad. I've been pretty vague on here about his health condition. . . partly because we don't really have a definitive diagnosis . . . the other part because he is a well-respected, well thought of man in our community. . . and Jon's mom was trying to keep it on the down-low for as long as she could. . . so, I certainly didn't want to blab anything on the blog that someone might read. . .

Anyhoo. . . let's just say he can't remember things like he used to and he's not able to do things he used to. Jon's Daddy is a brilliant man. . . sweet, heart of gold. . . he's the real deal.

Many, many years ago for Christmas one year GiGi surprised Granddaddy with a baby grand piano. . . it's beautiful, I tell you.

For a long time I haven't heard Granddaddy play the piano. I think we all thought that was something he could not longer do. . . that this disease that plagues him had stripped his memory of. . .

Well. . . yesterday, the kiddos and I were over there after VBS. Sometimes we take him out to lunch, but GiGi made lunch for us yesterday. As I was warming it up, I hear this catchy tune played on the piano . . . a tune that took my memory back to their old house. . .

Granddaddy was playing the piano. I was so excited!!!! I started dancing and encouraged the kids to dance with me. This was great! I couldn't wait to get home and tell Jon!! Little glimpses like this give me hope that maybe, just maybe, his health condition is for a season and it won't turn into or become what it is predicted to do . . . prayfully hoping . . .