Visiting Great-Grandma(s)

Today Ryan met his great-grandma V for the very first time. She is 92 years old and lives in a nursing home with dementia. It is incredibly sad to see her. It makes me so sad that she will never know Ryan and Ryan will never know her either. He will never know what her 'hard' chocolate chip cookies or pastina tasted like. He will never get to see for himself what kind of grandma/great-grandma she was and how she made the simplest things seem so much more than they really were. He will however hear all about her from me and I will share so many wonderful memories that I cherish with my grandma V with Ryan. I'm glad that he was at least able to meet her. When she first saw him she said, "that's your baby from Korea." How the hell she remembered that is beyond me. Funny how the mind works.... Or doesn't work :(








After visiting my grandma at the nursing home, we drove to my other grandma's house. Ryan's other great-grandma , who is an active part of his life and ours is moving out of her home that she has been in for over 30 years. This home once belonged to my great-grandparents so it has been in the family for a very long time. There have been SO many memories at this house throughout my life it was so hard to say good-bye to it. I walked into each room with Ryan and found myself hugging the walls and tearing up knowing that I will never step foot in that house again. Everything is out of order and packed away and Salvation Army was there taking away pieces of furniture that have sat in that house for years. Almost every Sunday throughout my life my grandma and her sister would cook dinner in her basement for the entire family. At noon on Sundays we all gathered in the basement to feast on some of the greatest meals ever made!!!! Today was Ryan's first time at my grandma's house and will be the last. He will never experience what a Sunday dinner in my grandma's basement was like. That too made me sad. Next week my grandma will begin her knew life in Clarkston. In just a few short weeks her new home on my parents property will be complete. Ryan will begin making his memories at her new home and that makes me happy. I want Ryan to spend as much time with my Grandma K so he can get to know her and what a wonderful grandma she has always been to us.

Here is Ryan at my Grandma's house for the 1st and last time...



I am happy that we spent time with grandma's/great-grandma's today but both visits were much more sad than happy. Life is about moving on to the next phase. Sometimes that phase is difficult. That's life though!