Grandpa just left. It's always hard to see them drive away. I still cry when we leave West Virginia after visiting, even though we seem to be able to make the trek up there fairly often these days.
The bottom line - I love Don's parents and I miss them when we're not together. Sometimes, I just have to call his Mom and have a good, long chat with her. She's such a sweet, supportive, loving person. And Grandpa is a delight, as well - an unbelievably gifted man that still manages to be humble and kind. My friend, Kelly, told me on the phone this morning, "It's easy to see where Don gets his disposition."
The visit went very well, not that I expected any different. The one thing I WAS concerned about was whether or not Grandpa would get any rest. He doesn't sleep well under the best of circumstances and being away from home and exhausted didn't bode well for him being able to rest. We put him in Daelyn's bedroom and put Daelyn in with Dane, which was a very simple transition for us. All we really had to do was move three day's worth of clothes into Dane's room for Dae.
Grandpa arrived Sunday afternoon and I had planned a cook-out with my family so they would get some time with Grandpa. After my parents left, my sister, Grandpa, and I went into the living room and sat in front of the fire visiting. Grandpa fell asleep. The kids went on to bed and Toni left. I got up to do the dishes, and Grandpa slept. I eventually woke him up to call Grandma before it got too late, but he had a nice nap. Then, the next morning, he told me that he had slept like a rock. I was thrilled. I had scheduled enough time in the middle of the day Monday for him to have a nap. I had to wake him up to get him back down to the school for his afternoon session and he said he would've slept right through if I hadn't woken him.
I've thought a lot about him being able to sleep here and I think it must be that he felt comfortable. He was with family. I know I feel that way when I'm at their house. I go to bed when I want, get up when I want . . . it's easy and natural.
One of the teachers at the school on Monday commented about how much Don looked like his Dad. That surprised me, I guess because I always think of him as being so much like his mother.
"I guess so," I responded. "But his personality is much more like Mom's. I'm the one who's more like Dad."
The teacher looked at me a little funny. Then it struck me. There's no blood between me and Don's parents, no inherited traits from them. The truth is, though, I AM a lot like Don's father. I was talking with someone about this yesterday and they said,
"You know, people tend to choose a spouse that's like one of their parents." It's true, in our case. Don is very much like my mother. They really understand each other. I'm JUST like my father. In fact, when Don and I were first married and I'd be frustrated with him, I'd often go to my father for advice.
"Let me tell you what I did with Mom one time when that happened," Daddy would say. Don is very much like his mother, so he married a woman much like his father (unfortunately, without the Doughty humility - I'm working on THAT!). It's really not so unusual after all that I'm a lot like his father, even if there's not a blood trail between us. There's a love trail, that's for sure.
It'll be a quiet, sad day for me today as I recall the conversations and fun we had with Grandpa. Just having him in our house made it feel fuller, more homey. Early on, I commented,
"The only thing that could make this better would be if Grandma was here, too, and they could stay longer." And I meant it. Maybe someday they'll live close to us. Until then, I'll cherish every moment I have with them and appreciate the times they make the effort to walk away from their very busy lives and visit us. They're so very dear to all of us. Thank goodness we have phones and computers and summer months to spend driving back and forth.
Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandpa Doughty. What a gift they are from God.
No comments:
Post a Comment