Change...

Right off the bat our family is experiencing a major change - my maternal grandparents are moving to my parents' place. It is really odd that instead of being on Lazy J Lane they will be right next door. The home they are leaving has been my second home my entire life. Seeing it grow emptier as things are moved out has been a very trying experience that is yet to be over.

Gran and Poppa are moving now because they are still physically strong enough as opposed to later when they can take care of themselves anymore. Poppa is tired of taking care of the acreage that hasn't been sold yet (which includes where the house sits) and Gran is tired of keeping house for a place so large. They are both aging steadily, of course, though I think Poppa has aged the most this last year.

Today we had lunch over at the new place for the first time. It was somewhat comical as not all of Gran's kitchenware has been moved or unpacked yet...we were going back and forth between the two houses trying to get everything necessary to assemble lunch. John joked that he could tell his cross country coach that he was getting plenty of "running" practice in...I mentioned (half seriously) that we need an intercom system. Hmmm...I am not entirely sure we should rule that out. Before we ate, Poppa's prayer brought me close to tears. He prayed for the new friends he and Gran will make in the community and that they would be able to make an impact that will bring glory to God. It made me think of how giving my grandparents are - no matter how old they get they never cease giving to those around them so as to bring glory and honor to God. I think about how nervous I am when I go to a new place and how hard it is for me to make an effort to reach out and I feel shameful. It is definitely my own fault that I have not learned this lesson - I have had the most wonderful examples in my Gran and Poppa my entire life.

Poppa saw a picture of him in his Army uniform and started telling me a story about his last visit to Gran before he was deployed to the Pacific theater of World War II. There was a commanding officer he had formed a friendship with who would ask him about his family and somehow Gran came up in the conversation. He asked Poppa if he was sure Gran would wait for him and he told the officer that he was working on it. The officer gave him two 3-day passes to back to Garrison so he could see Gran one more time - one pass for the trip there and one for the trip back. The time period covered by the passes overlapped about 18 hours. He admonished Poppa not to show the wrong one first because it would get them both in trouble! Poppa said that last visit was when he was convinced that Gran was sure to wait for him to come home. Then Poppa talked about when he came home...how he reached San Antonio where they were discharged and given a ticket home. I am confused about how the train worked, but it was going through Houston and Poppa ended up calling Gran and asking her to meet him at the depot there...he told her to bring his baby sister, Nelwyn, with her if she wanted to. It was around midnight when both their trains arrived, Poppa's slightly later than Gran's because she and my aunt were waiting for him. Someone later asked Aunt Nelwyn if she was present at the reunion and she said yes...Joe dropped one bag and picked up another! Poppa told me he dropped the duffel bag he was carrying...Gran dropped the bag she was carrying...and they embraced. If there was more to it than that I do not know, but that does not change the romance in that scenario at all. They are still together - 63 years later. Poppa is just as funny and Gran is just as gentle (but getting bossier)...and they both love the Lord more than anything else on this earth.

Gran and Poppa are both excited...excited for the rest that is approaching. Mom is excited to have her parents so close she can see and care for them often despite her crazy work schedule. I will be excited when things calm down again and when I have had a chance to heal from the loss I feel coming - the loss of my home away from home. On the other hand, my home away from home will always be with them...I just need to get used to it being a little closer!