Grandma and Grandpa

I lucked out when Jeff and I got married because he came with grandparents. Mine had died long ago and it wasn't hard to adopt this pair. I first met the grandparents in Las Vegas when Jeff and I were dating. We'd gone there for a family reunion of sorts and it was my first time hanging with the family as the girlfriend. We drove to Vegas from Utah and got there about midnight. We went into the Circus Circus to find our accommodations and there was Grandma in the midst of the slot machines burning the midnight oil. This is back when they still had coins instead of those lame IOU papers and Grandma's hands were appropriately smudged from all the coin handling. She looked at our tired faces and said, "what? This isn't no sleeping vacation." She had beautiful white hair, rosy pink cheeks, and a happy glint in her eye. I liked her right away. Grandpa was equally adorable. He had a thing for Keno and always gave me a hug and soft kiss on the cheek. He was soft spoken and gentle.

Grandma and Grandpa were unassuming and frugal. They'd lived through the Great Depression. I don't know if it was because they were frugal or they didn't like change, but stepping into their house felt like a time trip to the 1950s. Everything from the toaster to the kitchen table was still functional, cared for, and very old. They even had one of those soft, squishy toilet seats that are so nice in contrast to porcelain on cold mornings. The only time Grandma and Grandpa were not frugal was when they took their trips to Reno or when they handed out birthday or Christmas cards. There was always a large wad of cash in Jeff's card, making it feel like Christmas indeed.

We loved to send Grandma postcards whenever we took a trip. She enjoyed hearing about our trips. She'd even look up the weather and would inform us of whether we could look forward to rain or sun. She knew other details of our lives and would ask us about things going on when we'd see her. I will miss Grandma's sharp mind. She knew what was going on. In fact, I think we diagnosed my mom with her Alzheimer's because we compared Mom's memory with Grandma's (20+ years her senior), and poor Mom came up short.

Grandpa died about 2 1/2 years ago and Grandma died on Saturday. Grandma had been in the rest home for the last three years and not quite herself. We've missed Grandma and Grandpa for awhile. I imagine they are happy to see each other again. I don't know if there are slots or Keno up there, but I hope they find something they can enjoy together. I send them all my love and gratitude for being wonderful grandparents to me, if only for a short time.