There's Nothing Like....

Yesterday we made the six-hour journey from our home to the home of Nonna and Grandpa, the grandparents. It's usually not a six-hour drive but we went an alternate way than usual in order to bypass two sets of Friday rush hour traffic moments. Instead of driving on the millions of tons of concrete, littered with billboard advertisements, truck stops and rest-stops and watching on-and-off-again brake lights, we took the more scenic route. We really enjoyed slowly cruising through the little towns we discovered in the valleys of some really beautiful hills. JB and I thoroughly enjoyed it and we didn't even let the "are we there yet" question bother us, even when it had been asked for the 563rd time.

We arrived safe and sound at our destination around 830pm, a little later than usual, but we made it. We greeted The Grands with hugs and kisses, unloaded the car, and quickly and easily made ourselves at home. The kids wound down with their electronics and some of the favorite toys they love to play with when they come here. We were very comfortable.

I talked with my mother and father about life, jobs, the kids, and current events well into the night. When we finally looked at our watches, it was a little after midnight, we were really enjoying our talk. Then we looked over to find The Little fast asleep on the couch next to Grandpa. She had fallen asleep even with all the conversation noise. She looked so peaceful! And at that moment, I thought, "she loves being here so much."

This is the same scene played out when we drive the 30 minutes to Nana's house. Someone always asks when we are going to get there. We are always unloading the car with goodies of some sort; the kids settle in quickly with toys and their electronics; the adults always start conversing about about life, current events and the latest movies/shows we're watching. Our children are so very blessed to have these experiences with their grandparents and to create such sweet memories of their visits. And I know this blessing very well.

You see, as a kid, I've been on those long car rides up north with my family to see our grandmothers. We've asked, "Are we there yet?" anxious to see our special ladies. We've gazed at the country side when Dad took a different route than the normal highway route. And there truly is nothing like driving up into the driveway and seeing Grandma walk out onto the front porch to welcome us to her home. "Well, hi honeys!" she would say. There is nothing like that amazing feeling in the world.

As I'm writing this, I'm getting a little misty-eyed. You see, in a week or so, my father and his siblings will make another trip to Grandma's house to continue to clean it out and sort through her memories and belongings. She's not with us anymore. Well, she's not with us in this physical world. But, as The Little reminds me often, she's always with us. We miss her so very much, it still hurts to think that she isn't ever going to greet us at the front door again.....

I'm sure the sadness and hurting will lessen as the years go by. I'm not sure I want that to happen, but I'm sure it will. Having those sweet memories of being at her house will forever be in my heart. What is even better is that my children have those same memories with their Great-Grandma, they loved her so very much and miss her even more. What a blessing that is!

Maybe I'll start a blog about our adventures at Grandma's House....what do you think?