Grandparents

I was in the driver seat of my grandma's Escalade today for about twelve hours. And what a beautiful twelve hours it was. My grandparents were the only passengers as I set the cruise control and we drove leisurely up the Natchez Trace from Tupelo, MS all the way up to Meriwether Lewis's gravesite in Tennessee. We stopped and took pictures, hiked to the highest point in Alabama (a grand whopping total of 800 feet above sea level, ha), and explored the beauty of the trace. We stopped at a picnic area called "Holly" and took a picture of me under the sign to match one of me when I was about seven or eight years old. In the old picture I am climbing up the sign posts, suspended in the area below the brown park sign. In today's picture, my head is against the sign, and I'm just thrilled to be with my grandparents. We came down to Mississippi for spring break with the intention of essentially saying goodbye to my grandpa but I can see that he is doing so well. Today I got to see the sprightly, happy, wonderful grandpa that seemed to slip away there for a while. He is still old, hobbling around and coughing more than usual. But he is happy, full of anecdotes, and smiling plenty. He used to be in such a rush to get everywhere - he never stopped to look around. Now that he is in the veteran's home, he cherishes every chance he has to get out for day. He must have thanked me seven times for inviting him along on my research journey. I loved having him in the back seat to bring back up memories and tell me old stories. He is hard of hearing so my voice is nice and sore from nearly yelling to him, but it was more than worth it. My grandma is hardly old - she is still completely aware and totally sane. I still remember driving down the Trace with them from Nashville when Emily and I were young. They used to bicker and fuss. They still had the occasional "Barbara!!" and "Bill!!" moments today, but from what I could see, they thoroughly enjoyed the chauffeured journey along one of the most important highways of their lives. I certainly didn't feel like we were in the car for twelve hours. At the Olive Garden in Tupelo after the trip, I sat in the opposite side of the booth from them, watching the two of them eat. They seemed like the perfect happy old couple. A couple that had been through a lot together but have had a wonderful time in the process. They looked like the kind of couple you'd see across the room and say "Awww." This is how I want to remember them. What I saw today made me believe that they could both still have a while left here, but you never know what may happen. I hate to think of that, it makes me utterly upset and entirely sad. But seeing their happiness today made me see just how much every moment has meant. They remind me of the couple in the Notebook. I hope that I can be that way when I'm old. Happy, still mentally clear, and content when my life. They really mean a lot to me. I'm doing my best to only think of the NOW with them.