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| Grandpa |
| 05.31.04 (10:45 am) [edit] |
So Grandma likes to go see Grandpa at the nursing home during both lunch and dinner, if possible, but for at least one meal per day. And since she still has her cast on from her foot surgery and has to stay off her feet, she needs someone to drive her. And while Aunt Meg and Aunt Jean aren't around, I am usually that person.
Today when I dropped Grandma off, Grandpa was laying in bed and he looked so small and weak. His glasses take up half his face because he has lost so much weight. He wasn't in a great mood; mostly fed up with being there. He kept asking Grandma how many days their insurance covers because he can't wait to get out of there and he just is sick of being there and the days go by so slowly. On the way home I was talking to Grandma about it, and she says that he will always tell her that he would get better so much faster if he were home, and working in the raspberry patch would be so much more helpful for him than the therapy and it would be such good excerise. He doesn't realize that there is no way he could get down to the patch, much less work down there, in his present condition.
He was also saying that they gave him the most disgusting pills ever that morning; they were small and brown, and he hates the food there, and it's always cold.
But when I went back to pick Grandma up, he was in a much better mood. He said that the lunch was one of the better ones they had--salt potatoes (where they had done alright with the right amount of salt), ground up barbequed chicken, that even though he doesnt like the idea of eating ground up chicken, being the chicken lover he is, it was alright. And even though the blueberries in the blueberry cobbler were the size of bebes from a gun, that was alright too.
I love going down to see him but I just get so sad every time I do. You can see how frustrated he his in his eyes; you can hear it in his voice. He has always been so strong and independent. When he could no longer do hard labor on the farm, he started the raspberries and asparagus. When he could no longer handle the entire raspberry patch, he concentrated on the asparagus. But now he isn't even allowed to get out of bed on his own because the nurses don't have enough time to wait for him to do it, so they just pick him up and put him in his wheelchair. He gets so angry because he can't understand why they won't just let him do it, because he can! I can't imagine what it's like for him, and I must say I don't like thinking about it because it makes me so upset.
When I first went to see him when I got back from Spain last week I told him that he had to at least live for a few more weeks, since I hadn't seen him so long (that was after he told us to drop him off at the cemetary). He replied "So, you don't want me to come to your wedding?" And that made me sad because I always wanted my husband and kids to have known him because he is such a great guy. But unless I find a husband by the end of the summer and adopt a kid off the street real quick-like, it's not looking like that's going to happen.
But even though he complains about anything and everything, he still cracks his jokes and teases the nurses and me, and he is still the same man that he always has been, and I love him :)
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| Home again |
| 05.29.04 (7:44 am) [edit] |
I'm home...
It's strange. I came back expecting everything here to be totally different. I don't know in what way, but just I think the appearances of everything and even differences in people, or differences in me. But the only real difference is that Daniel is now two inches taller than me and his hair is just about as long--the intimidation factor as a lacrosse defenseman is pretty high, just from looks. The fact that he has been known to growl (yes, growl) at his opponents makes him one of the more feared guys in the league; at least he would be to me!
But home is the same. Sammy still tries to be like me. Mom is still ridiculous. Mariel still says funny things. Steph still makes me laugh more than anyone else. Holly still calls trying to hang out for an hour before work. And sometimes it seems like Spain was some kind of a dream because everything is just so much like it was before I left--if it weren't for Emilio and my random Spanish outbursts (and my SCRAPBOOK!) I might be convinced of its dream state.
I miss it a lot. I miss our family, I miss Emilio, I miss Alfaro and Supervia, I miss Amy, I miss Salamandra, I miss Zara, I miss Suky -to an extent- and I miss Valencia. I miss seeing Sheila, Jess, and Faye every day and doing ridiculous things and even becoming completely depressed at our inability to speak Spanish like a Spaniard. I miss nights out with the kids from school--Stacy kicking and stretching, Jill hitting on Chand, Tim, Serg, and Donnell saying terrible things and pretending to be serious (I hope they were pretending!), Joni talking about her love problems with Wes (" 'Cause you KNOW I don't use no ---"), awesome talks with Libby and Bethany, and everyone else too.
But it is good to be home. Grandpa is in the nursing home still from his bout with pneumonia in March, and it looks like he might not be able to leave. His heart is only working at 20% capacity and he just can't regain his strength. He still has his ridiculous sense of humor and is trying so hard. He was so excited yesterday because he did better at therapy than he had in awhile--he walked from the therapy room to the outside door. He is so thin and he is always cold because his blood is hardly circulating. I just praise God that He kept him alive until I could see him again. I am going to miss him so much when he dies :cry:
Sammy got crowned Dairy Princess last night and I was so glad I could be here for that. She was hott!! Mom, Sammy, and I all worked on her gown and finished it yesterday on the way to the pageant. But I have to say that I was most impressed with Natalie Taylor; my mentee. Her first year as a Dairy Ambassador was my second year as Princess, and when she started she was shy and quiet, and would never speak in public or talk to strangers, but came to everything and did any kind of background work that we asked of her. Last night she gave a speech at the pageant. She did an amazing job--her projection, poise, and the content of the speech was just great. She spoke about how she had interviewed for and received the Publicity Chairman for her school's milk machine organization. She is now in charge of promoting the milk machine to the entire school and I am sure will do a great job. She has just completely blossomed from when I first met her. She is going to make an amazing Princess in two years; I can't wait to see her!!
I got a job at my church this summer working as the Youth Leader, and I can not tell you how excited I am. My two main goals are to get new kids involved in the church and for all the kids to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ. I am so excited because I have a great team working with me--at the front is going to be Marcus, who has already said that he will be volunteering about 100 hours per week--aka doing the same thing I am, but for free. Randy and Andy I am pretty sure will be helping out (Andy in anything that involves being on stage, singing, and the like--haha) and I am hoping to get as many other college students as possible working with me, in addition to the great adult leaders at the church--Mr. P, Sherry, Mom and Dad, Dennis, and who knows who else! Since God has already been involved in this job (some of you know the story about how I was praying for it when it didn't even exist--and now it does!) I know that great things are going to happen this summer at FPCC, and I am so excited to be a part of it.
So even though this summer looks like it's going to be great, I am sure in a couple weeks I will be fighting off the temptation to buy a one-way flight back to Valencia (with the money I DON'T have!). I love all of you that were a part of my experience, and I can't wait until our road trip to Georgia!! Maybe we should change it to an air-trip to Valencia....is the dog poop worse in the fall?
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