I am so happy to be home. We spent two weeks in the lower mainland with the purpose of visiting my grandparents. One of my grandfathers just had his appendix out and wasn’t mending as easily as everyone would have liked. He’s doing much better now and I was so glad to see him. Lily and Leif helped cheer him up immensely.
My grandfather feeds his wife of almost 65 years lunch every day. When he was out of commission for a time, my dad and aunt upped their visits to daily to pick up the slack. I’m proud as heck that both sides of my family are sure to visit my dad’s mom and my mom’s dad in their care homes every day.
The garden at my Nana’s home is a favourite for me to visit. It was looking at bit sparse so early in the season but with the special care the nurses give it in their off hours, it will be filled with gorgeous blooms before too long. My Nana loves to sit out in the garden and soak up the sun.
A couple of the nurses who work in this home are the mothers of my elementary schoolmates. On this visit one of them asked me “which one are you?”, trying to differentiate between me and my sister. I think my face clearly demonstrated my surprise at her inability to tell us apart. I’m four years older than my sister and not only was I in her son’s class for seven years but I spent some time with her daughter outside of school. When I told her who I was she was the one to then show surprise. I wonder if she thought my intense shyness as a child would preclude me from having a normal life once I grew.
What I realised from this little back and forth was that I’m still that ‘shy’ person I once was but I have life experience now which has given me a confidence I never had back then. I also choose to live in a smaller community where I’m much more comfortable instead of the busy and overcrowded big city.
Of course we also went with my Grandma to visit her husband, also of almost 65 years. (My two sets of grandparents were married days apart from each other) My Grandpa’s sister lives in the same home. He sometimes mistakes her for his mother.
We went to Steveston to buy a sockeye salmon. My dad (and mom) went vegan when I was a teen but in the last year or so my dad has decided to add salmon (and fancy cheese) to his diet every once and a while. He especially likes to eat salmon with Leif, the self proclaimed “Salmon Monster”.
At the first boat on the dock we learned that their fish came from our area up here in Prince Rupert! It felt a bit bizarre to buy a frozen fish so far from home for such a pretty penny but it makes my dad happy to do it. The vendor made the kids laugh by making the fish talk by moving it’s frozen mouth and getting them to touch the eyeballs. Imagine our surprise to discover while chatting that he is related to my dad’s wife!
I’ll share more about our trip in another post. Part two will touch on the few days we spent with Erin, Scott, Matthew and Brendan!
this is such a lovely post. i adore your photos of your elder family members immensely, especially that first one of grandma resting. wow. and double wow about 65 years. i am in a hopeless romantic phase right now, having just fallen in love 3-4 months ago, and thinking about being with someone for that long is such an amazing concept and one i truly wish for. someone to feed me lunch every day when it gets to that point. it just yanks on the heartstrings, it does. can’t wait to hear about your visit with erin!
Thank you so much!
I’m also a romantic! I can’t imagine 65 years with one person. I remember when they were celebrating 50 years and thinking that was incredible! I love that their love is still so evident.
Let me know next time you’re in the city! I live downtown and would love to see you guys :)
annie, i always love reading about your love for and connection to your family…each time you write about them i learn a little more about them and you, such a gift :)
and it was great to see these photos paired up with your words to appreciate all of the things you did while down here. it must have been such a heart-filling trip to be with relatives and loved ones, and yet, i know how you love home, and i imagine it also feels good to be back inside your own “4 walls” so-to-speak.
your photos are treasures!
xoxo
Chloe- we will! We didn’t see any family outside of the grandparents. It felt busy but I’m sure we could have made the time somehow. :( Next time! <3
Erin- xx You are right on- I love to see my family but I also love being home and away from the busy city. I just have to figure a way to get my family to come and visit me and I'll be much more at ease!