These are my grandparents.
My mom's mom and dad.
His name is Andy and her name is Stella.
I call them PopPop and Grandma.
Whenever we came to visit when we were younger,
they would buy oatmeal cream pies, and make homemade meatballs.
We'd roller skate in their basement and play on my grandma's beauty chair...even though we weren't supposed to. Most days we'd go "down street" and run some errands. The post office, or get gas, sometimes stop for an ice cream. One of our favorite things to do was to drive a ways to the natural spring and fill up gallons of water to take home.
We still take drives to that spring.
We don't fit into the roller skates anymore, but when we visit we do things like go thrift store shopping together, or go on long walks. We like walking a lot. Grandma will show us her new line dancing moves and command us to dance for her too. While we tell her we don't know how, PopPop will say, "Stella, they don't want to do it!" and then squeeze our hands and slip us a 20 dollar bill.
They have a porch that is great for eating watermelon.
One night I guess the two of them were eating one and spit the seeds into the grass.
The next year they had their very own watermelon off that very porch. I saw pictures.
My grandma goes to mass. When we go with her I think she is happy just to have her family all there.
PopPop always asks us at breakfast what he can get us. "More cereal? More fruit? You need some hard boiled eggs? We'll make some", he always says.
One weekend my sisters and I drove up by ourselves to be with them.
We went to the center and played Bingo. It was the most fun I think I had all that year. They wanted to take us out to eat to Perkins with a coupon they had. But when they pulled into the parking lot they realized it was expired. So we just went home and had left over meat balls on sand which bread.
They taste even better the next day.
My favorite is when grandma gets into a laughing fit and can't stop crying. Also, when PopPop get's a twinkle in his eye and does something out of ordinary. Like put a hat on sideways, or put a rabbit pelt on his head and say "look, it grew back!".
The two of them are still in love.
When Grandma hurt her hip, PopPop took care of her every day.
She said that "Andy and prayer" was what brought her back.
Grandma knows how to pray. She talks to God all the time about everything.
About her family most of all.
When she hurt her hip, she was pretty sad.
Probably because she couldn't dance. They love going to the dance.
"It's how we met", she always tells me. They'd go every day if they could.
PopPop buys lottery tickets every day. I think it's the Powerball.
He doesn't buy it so he can be a millionaire.
He does it so if he wins he can give it to his kids.
He's never said that, but you just know that about him.
Something you can be sure of about Grandma, is that if you are sick,
you are drinking olive oil.
She uses it on everything and for everything.
My sister hid once from her at our old house in Williams Bay. She had a sore throat and thought Grandma would tell her to drink it. She was right. She did. And Bethany did. And cried.
Now I use it for lot's of things too and when I do, I think of her.
Sometimes I wish they didn't live so far away.
Because I could definitely go for a long walk this spring morning,
holding both their hands, and being thankful that their blood is in my veins.
