Grandma Dee Day

Along with all the "normal" emotions associated with parenthood, Amy and I were presented with an entire subset of feelings in 2004 when we became parents, because of some minor details such as traveling across the globe to get our little girl, or having to adjust on the fly to having a 10 month old in the blink of an eye. September and October always invoke a stronger form of these emotions and memories because it was this time of the year when our lives changed forever. (for the better!)

"Free time." It is something we truly take for granted until we don't have much of it and we then realize how much we actually had before. Anyway, one particular thing I remember was how instantly should I say abruptly Amy and I became aware of how much "free time" we had before Gracie came into our lives. The first few weeks after we returned from China with our little girl we commented about how little time we had but we quickly realized this was due to all the time we actually wasted prior to our new addition. In relation to this, I remember my mom mentioning in those few weeks how she really wished she could see Gracie more. We were new at this and we never really thought of that aspect as we were merely trying to get our routines established and learn to be parents on the fly. Funny how the aspect of time is so taken for granted until we have changes to remind us of what really matters.

Soon after, we started the tradition of "Grandma Dee" day, a day or two per week where G got to visit and spend time with Grandma Dee and Grandpa Jim. Since she has been able to verbalize her wishes, G has always looked forward to her "Grandma Dee" day(s). They have worked out to happen mostly on Sundays and Wednesday evenings. They include lots of fun activities such as Play-Doh, videos, coloring, cooking, baking, toys from the basement, walks, bike rides, visits to other neighbors and much much more. It rekindles memories I have of spending time with my grandparents, most specifically in this case, Grandma Donna and Grandpa Bud. I used to go to their house to spend the night in a "retreat" of many sorts. I have nothing but the fondest of memories of those days and I'm positive Gracie has very similar memories of her retreats as well.

My reminder today was pulling away after dropping G off and looking to the huge picture window of my parents' house and seeing Gracie and my mom waving at me as they do every "Grandma Dee" day. It hit me how blessed we all are to enjoy these simple yet life lasting memories. It seems like yesterday that a chubby little toddler waved to me from Grandma Dee's arms as I pulled away. Seeing my little girl, now soon to be 7, wave to me today reminded me of how precious our time with all our friends and family is and how blessed my family has been. I know G will always love her "Grandma Dee" days and remember them fondly.