grandparents, hockey, romance

I have been thinking about my grandparents a lot lately. My mom's parents, Grandma and Grandpa R have both died, and my dad's parents, Grandma and Grandpa W, are both alive and well at ages 87 and 93.

A reminder of Grandpa and Grandma R lately (particularly Grandpa) has been the Stanley Cup playoffs. They loved hockey, and would faithfully watch the playoffs. Grandpa even participated in the yearly hockey draft with the younger members of the family.

I have also been thinking about Grandma R because now it's two years since she died. Her funeral was the last time our whole extended family was together, and it was a really good time of remembering her, learning more about who she was from other people, and enjoying each other's company. It was amazing to hear other people's experiences of interacting with my grandma, even when she was dying, and how she was so gracious and interested in them, and positive.

It's definitely not the same now that the grandparents on one side of the family are both gone. My family lives far away from the rest of the extended family, so we were never able to see each other a lot anyway, but it saddens me that without the grandparents, it seems that it is that much more of an effort to have extended family gatherings. They were the glue of the family, and even though individuals within the family stay close, like my mom with her brother and sister, it's harder for the family as a whole to stay close. Maybe I need to be the one to initiate a big family reunion!

As I said, my Grandma and Grandpa W are still both alive and doing quite well for their ages. In the past couple of years, we have had several big family gatherings on that side of the family, so I am glad for all the time I have been able to spend with them, even though I don't live close to them. I don't have a trip to Saskatchewan planned for this year, but I think I need to plan one again soon, because I want to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa while I still can.

My dad was just recalling that my Grandpa W has taken to reading romance novels (usually Christian ones, but romance nonetheless), and once when some other family members were visiting, he was talking about one of the books he had just finished, and he was quite fired up about the fact that "he loved her, but he didn't tell her...and then she died!!!". He and Grandma R should have had a book club together. She once lent my mom a romance book, which is not at all my mom's thing, and was trying to convince my mom is was an OK book. She said "it's not so sexy like some other ones."

Well, Grandpa W seems to think it's important that you tell people you love them, which wasn't always the case with him. Losing younger siblings, a grandson, and a son-in-law really changed him. I like how he looks out for me too. When Erica got married and I was single as I am now, Grandpa told me that when I find a man I love, I need to tell him! Good advice, Grandpa! I have listened!