In about four weeks, five very important people in my life will be moving to Florida. Because of a job transfer, Austin and his crew are making the journey to the Sunshine State. With him he is taking our wonderful DIL, Amanda, and three little moppets who have my heart...Macie, Graeme, and Quinn. To be honest, I don't know how Mark and I will survive. They've lived down the street for 3 years now. So, we have been able to see them whenever we wanted. There have been so many sleep overs, Grandma and Macie Days, Grandma and Graeme Days and Grandma and Quinn Days, road trips, family dinners, cookouts, pool parties, crafting days, holidays and more. The days are dwindling and soon there will be fewer of these things.
While I am excited for them all to be together as a family again, it will be hard to say goodbye. I know it's the best thing for them, and I support it with all of my mind and common sense. My heart, however, is struggling with it. As I sit here, I just keep thinking...
The days are dwindling and so are the special moments. Since the kids don't live in Newark anymore and are with her parents in Columbus, Mark and I have had Amanda and kids here every other weekend. They were all here for the weekend. There's only a few more sleepovers left before the move. So, I've decided to enjoy, embrace and appreciate every moment...good or bad. Quinn had a bad night last night and screamed from 11:30 until 2:00. We have no idea why. But, instead of being short tempered, I chose to soak up every minute of it. Quinn ended finding some comfort laying on top of me. At some point my neck hurt and I was on fire from his body heat, but I kept reminding myself to absorb the moment. To take solace in that fact I was there for him last night when he needed me the most.
The days are dwindling and so are the number of hugs, kisses and love yous. I know there will be lots of phone calls, video chats and visits, it won't be as often as I'd like. The kids were exceptionally loving this weekend. In fact, Macie even called me Grandma and Grandma Denise. She calls everyone by their first names...even her parents! So every time I heard "Grandma Denise, I love you" my heart melted and I filed her voice in my memory forever! I'll pull those memories out when I'm feeling sad or lonely for her.
The days are dwindling and so are the pancake breakfasts. Macie and Graeme love to spend the night because they know that I'll let them make pancakes in the morning. They love to be helpers! They are really becoming more and more independent. So each morning they each get to make their own batter. Graeme stands on the stool at the counter and Macie makes hers at the table. They don't do well side by side! Then we all sit down and share our bounty together. There is no chef in this world that can hold a candle to the Alverson pancakes.
The days are dwindling and so are the meltdowns and temper tantrums. I realized this weekend while Graeme was entralled with an epic meltdown that I'm actually going to miss them. Don't get me wrong! As a grandmother you never want any of your grandchildren to be unhappy and in distress. But the reality of it is that will happen especially toddlers! All you can do is wait for it to be over and let them know that you love them no matter what! I'm pretty sure he knows that after this weekend!
The days are dwindling and so are our traditions. There are a few things that we do with the grandkids every year. We go to the pumpkin patch every October. We didn't miss it this year. We went a little earlier than normal...this evident by the condition of their pumpkins right now! We always decorate our Christmas tree together. So, this coming Friday when they get here, they will find the tree up. And I don't care if the darn thing is up on Nov. 1! We will decorate it together. There will oohs and aahs. Macie will yell at Graeme for putting an ornament in the wrong place. We will all sleep in the living room that night with the tree on. There will be oodles of pictures and videos posted to my Facebook, just so you are warned. Who knows, I may leave it up all year.
The days are dwindling and so are the park visits. These three love the park! They always ask if we can go. We are lucky to live in a county that has a plethora of parks to enjoy. What I love the most about our visits is watching them build their self-confidence. It seems that with each visit, they try new things that is out of their comfort zones. Watching Quinn go down the sliding board by himself for the first time and the look of wonderment and then smile on his face totally made my heart swell. Watching Graeme tackle a few new activities at the Paw Paw's Park (Legacy in Hanover) was so exciting. He was so apprehensive and backed out several times. But in the end he prevailed and did it! And Sweet Macie Aine had her first "playground romance"! She met a boy a year or two older than her. He was very kind and asked her her name and how old she was. The next thing Amanda and I knew, she dusted us and played with the boy. We, of course ,teased her in the car! She didn't like that, but it's okay! Pretty sure we are glad daddy and pawpaw weren't there!
The days are dwindling and so are the adventures. Mark and I love to take the kids to different places! We share with them our love for experiencing new things. Over the years, we have been to playgrounds, theaters, shows, movies, fairs, museums, and more. They don't know it yet, but Saturday is going to be a big day for them. You see, we are taking them on another adventure before they leave. We are going to see Disney on Ice in Dayton. It's their Christmas present! We don't buy toys. We prefer to buy them what I call memories. They will remember Disney on Ice far longer than a dinosaur or a shopkin. So will Mark and I.
I could go on all night long about the days dwindling. But I won't. One, because I'll start crying. Oh hell, we all know that I'm crying! At least it isn't the ugly cry! Two, I chose to think of the future adventures we will have on visits to Florida and here. We will make sure it's always an adventure filled with lots of love, hugs, kisses, love yous, laughter and smiles with a few meltdowns and hissy fits thrown in! Three, I promise to enjoy and treasure each moment we have left before the moving truck shows up and whisks our loves away.
I urge all of you to treasure the moments with your loved ones and look for the blessings. No mater our situations, all of our days are dwindling away. You never know what's down the road whether it's I-75 or life.
Make Every Day Counts
Denise
