Grandmother Over Cherry Blossoms

This year the National Cherry Blossoms will be in full bloom starting today until Tuesday. For the past two years I've made a point to check them out, but sadly I'll be unalbe to see them this year because I can't afford to get out of work Monday or Tuesday. Although I could have seen them today, I decided not to see them becasue today was my father's birthday and in addition to that my family and I wanted to visit with my only surviving grandparent (my dad's mother) because much like the cherry blossoms her time on earth is short lived.

Late last year my Grandmother had a heart attack and was in pretty bad shape, but she has made a pretty good recovery, but again at 80 plus years old you never really know. Well, I guess you never really know for anyone, but in her case with her age/health the chances seem more likely. Anyway, with that being the case I felt kinda guilty for not spending enough time with my grandmother and maybe I should make a better effort to talk to her/visit with her.

I'll admit going to her house is very restful and it's wonderful time caspule of family history. For example, I really enjoyed looking at all the photo albums. In the photos I can see she has lived a very full life. She and my Grandfather have been to so many places such as Italy, Jamaica, Bermuda, and the Florida Keys. Also, there were some beautiful pics from when they were first married and went camping in West Virginia and day trips to different parts of Maryland (much like my friends and I). In additon to the places they've been, it's interesting to see what my grandparents, Parents, Uncles, Aunts etc.....looked like when they were my age. I never imagined I'd see pics of my grandmother in her early to mid 20's posing in her swimsuit. In her day my grandmother looked awfully similar to Betty Page (VERY Beautiful). My father also looked kinda cool. He was a total greaser type and he looked rather handsome.

In addition to all the photos, there were all sorts of interesting artifacts at my grandmother's house. For example, she's kept all the little dolls and trinkets I gave her as a child for various holidays/birhtdays and some of them are proudly featured in her display cases. Also, my father's and his siblings rooms are pretty much the same and look very much the same since the 1960's era.

Going to my grandmother's isn't just about all the stuff/memories she has there, but it's also nice to hear her talk and she's definitley has some stories to tell, but sadly not always an audience to hear them. My grandfather died when I was 7 years old so my grandmother has been livng alone in her place for quite some time. I can imagine how lonely/depressing it could be.

All in all, from this day forward I really should make more of an effort to keep in touch with my grandmother because I really don't know how long she'll have because her condition could easily get worse. I think I just get caught up with working and my social life that I tend to forget/don't appreciate my family as much as I should. Yeah, I've missed out on seeing the National Cherry Blossoms this year, but they'll most likely be around next year. As for my Grandmother, theres no promise that she or anyone will be here next year so that's why I really need to make a better effort at keeping in touch with her and pray that she continues to live a full and happy life.