Generations

When I was a kid, one of my favorite parts of summer vacation was the time I spent at my grandparents' house in California. It was Northern California, not too far from San Francisco, so I didn't come home with a fabulous tan or spend days lounging on the beach. But my there was a pool to swim in, bikes to ride, and a big yard where we played. Grandma cooked us wonderful meals and Grandpa told us funny stories.

When I was a teenager my grandparents sold their house and moved into a retirement home. Our visits grew shorter. Slowly they started to travel less and less. I had kids of my own and had less time to go see them. And then my Grandma got sick, which kept them from traveling at all.

After she died, things were very changed. None of us who knew her and loved her will ever be the same.

But the person most affected was obviously my Grandpa. I can't imagine what it must be like, losing the person who you love the most and who you have spent so much of life with. How do you get through something like that? When I look into his eyes now, I can see they are finally starting to shine again. But there is still a little empty space if you look deep.

This weekend I visited Grandpa. He hadn't seen Boo in years. He got to meet Q.P. and Scott's mom for the first time. And, while talking to Chloe and telling her a story he might have told me when I was her age...

I saw him laugh...