Noblejanobii
12-06-2018, 01:34 PM
Today is a very special day to me. I have fond memories of driving an hour from my home to visit my grandparents in their old Christmas decorated nursing home. We would go to the cafeteria and eat anything from chicken to pasta depending on the day. Then we would bring out the presents and let my grandfather open. For today, December 6, was his birthday.
https://d3trabu2dfbdfb.cloudfront.net/8/0/8088768_300x300.jpeg
My grandfather was an interesting man. I remember his gifts fondly because he tended to reuse boxes to package stuff in. So one year when we were celebrating Christmas, I thought he had gotten me soap because I had opened a soap box. My eighth grade self was less than thrilled until I opened the box and found a Christmas ornament inside. He loved chocolate, so every year we always had my dad pick up chocolate from some foreign country and bring it to him. We would celebrate in the living room and then he'd retire to his study. His study was full of clocks, ticking constantly, and I think this is one of the reasons why I find ticking clocks so soothing.
It was hard after he was forced to move to a separate part of the nursing home, and then a different one altogether, due to his health declining. But we still made it work. My parents and I would go and pickup my grandma from her home and drive her to him so we could celebrate just as we always had. Even if he couldn't talk to us anymore, he always seemed to enjoy the company. Unfortunately, time must eventually take its toll, and my grandfather passed earlier last year. He'd be 92 this year if he were still alive. But even though he isn't, he's buried very close to campus. So I intend to visit today and hope to play his favorite song on the bells.
https://d3trabu2dfbdfb.cloudfront.net/8/0/8088768_300x300.jpeg
My grandfather was an interesting man. I remember his gifts fondly because he tended to reuse boxes to package stuff in. So one year when we were celebrating Christmas, I thought he had gotten me soap because I had opened a soap box. My eighth grade self was less than thrilled until I opened the box and found a Christmas ornament inside. He loved chocolate, so every year we always had my dad pick up chocolate from some foreign country and bring it to him. We would celebrate in the living room and then he'd retire to his study. His study was full of clocks, ticking constantly, and I think this is one of the reasons why I find ticking clocks so soothing.
It was hard after he was forced to move to a separate part of the nursing home, and then a different one altogether, due to his health declining. But we still made it work. My parents and I would go and pickup my grandma from her home and drive her to him so we could celebrate just as we always had. Even if he couldn't talk to us anymore, he always seemed to enjoy the company. Unfortunately, time must eventually take its toll, and my grandfather passed earlier last year. He'd be 92 this year if he were still alive. But even though he isn't, he's buried very close to campus. So I intend to visit today and hope to play his favorite song on the bells.