Today was my Grandmother’s gravesite service for her passing on October 1st, the day after her 97th birthday. It was an event that I will never forget because of the remarkable impact that day had on me. The service was attended by family only who are some of the warmest, most caring and spiritual people from the Midwest you would ever know. On that particular day, the sky was a crisp shade of bright blue and she was buried on a beautiful plot of rolling hills surrounded by trees that were just turning their golden hues for the season. Looking around at the crowd it was obvious that her legacy will continue through all of us for many, many years. Some sharing her recipes like how to make homemade applesauce and others her love of gardening. There wasn’t a bird or plant that my grandmother didn’t know. She lived a simple life but was a fulfilled woman because she was surrounded by so much love.
Later that day Chelsey and I took off on our road trip to Florida wearing our pink breast cancer awareness ball caps. We had full intentions of stopping in St. Louis for some retail therapy, but once we realized we couldn’t fit into her car all of the clothes she already owned and desperately had to have with her, I made the decision that stopping would only mean she’d have to leave something else behind which she just couldn’t do. So, our only stop ended up being to Barnes and Noble to pick up a couple of books on tape to pass the time quicker. Day one was a breeze, I ended up doing all the driving and we stopped that first night in Paducah, Kentucky.
After hauling all of our luggage, the cat and her liter box and food into the hotel room at night and back into the car the next morning we decided to try and haul it straight through to Tampa. The drive was going to be long, about 13 hours but we thought between the two of us we could do it. I took the first leg and got us just past Atlanta, GA before pulling over to let Chelsey drive so I could rest. Unfortunately, I stopped too soon and the traffic outside Atlanta is crazy! I turned into such a nag harping at poor Chelsey over and over about slowing down, changing lanes and watching out for crazy drivers that she was quickly agitated with me. Our peaceful drive all of a sudden turned into me being a maniac. I tried to close my eyes, but whenever she slammed on the breaks I woke up in a sweat. After 2 short hours of this, Chelsey found a rest stop and pulled over, turned off the car and handed me the keys. She never really said much because I could tell she didn’t want to me mean to me (normally she would have put me in my place) but she was done. I don’t blame her. I took the wheel back and she stuffed her head into a pillow for the next 2 hours to get over it. I had to drive the rest of the way to Tampa which turned out to be a total of 14 hours that day! I clearly should have kept my mouth shut. We were both wiped out but we made it safe and sound. I guess it’s time for me to realize that she’s been on her own for a few years now and I have to start treating her like the grown up that she is. These next few months will force her to be much more grown up and I’ll have to learn to accept it and appreciate it.
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