Packing Up Memories

Over the past few months my family has been making a transition. My parents have opened up their home to my grandmother. This has been a big adjustment for everyone. To be honest, I didn't realize the effect it would have on me. My Grandmother Wilson is the only grandparent I have living and although she would never admit it, she's not the superwoman she once was. Some health issues have forced her to make the painful decision to sell her house and move in with my parents. This has taken an emotional toll on her.

Here is a little back story on her and my family. From the time I was about 3 weeks old until middle school, my grandparents became my weekend parents.  I remember Mawmaw picking me up on Friday afternoon from school and taking my brother and I to her house just about every weekend until middle school. On Friday nights she would grill pork chops while Pawpaw set by the table listening to Deshler football games on the radio. We would always rent two movies, one for me and one for my brother. Still yet the best part was waking up Saturday morning to gravy and biscuit being cooked. After breakfast, depending on the time of year, I would go ride our go kart or my brother would go hunting with my grandad. It was the same ritual every weekend for at least 10 years. Looking back on it, I now realize that this was just my parents kicking my brother and I out of the house. Even if that were true, my best memories as a child were at that house. 

Selling her house has me thinking about how hard it is to take a whole lifetime with of possessions and reduce it down to one room at my parents house. I shiver when I think about selling off the stuff her and my grandad collected and cherished. Tonight I had a friend tell me not to look at it as reducing because she has enough memories to fill up 10 houses. That is a very true statement. She has seen a lot in her life.  She had 2 sons that grew up to be successful and Christian family men. She has seen 4 grandchildren grow up and start their own families. From those 4 grandchildren she has 8 great grand children. She also has a 5th grandchild she still mentors and tries to point in the right direction...... yup, that would be me. She isn't shy to remind me of the fact that I am the only one not married. I tell her that just because I'm not married doesn't mean I don't have kids to get a rise out of her. She is the last of her siblings alive and has lost a husband and son along the way. Life hasn't always been easy, but that is where family comes in. My parents welcomed my grandmother into their house without question. 

It looks as if the house is about to sell. A contract has been signed and now comes the time to start packing up memories. While I know that my parents house will never be home to her, I hope that she can continue stockpiling memories and enjoy the time that she gets to spend with her great grandchildren that are always there. I know that every time I pass her old house, nothing but smiles cross my face when I think about Friday nights, her cooking and Pawpaw sitting under his tree working on bicycles.