I Promise

Yesterday Trevor and I took Adam with us to Oak Park to visit my grandma who lives in a nursing home.  I had not seen her in a year and a half, when I was pregnant with Adam.  She was in a wheelchair back then, and we we even took her with us across the street that day to a bar that grandpa frequented on his visits.  (Quite the scene it was, see picture).


Anyway, when I anxiously turned the corner from the hallway to her room yesterday, I saw that she is now bedridden and has gained a good amount of weight. I could not hold my tears back as I put my hand on her forehead and stroked her hair back a couple of times and said, "Hi, grandma! It's Michelle, and I want you to finally meet your great-grandson, Adam and Trevor his daddy."  She looked so surprised and happy to see us, and I brought Adam over and he immediately looks up at her with a big smile on his face and says, "Hiiiii!" while doing that air-grabbing wave he usually does.  She smiled and nodded her head, and he nodded back.  It was so cute.  We shared his favorite book with her, and had him blow her kisses like I usually ask him to do before bed.  She blew some right back at him!  We visited for about an hour before Adam was showing signs that he was well overdue for a nap.  I let her give him a kiss on the cheek, and I told her my goodbyes and we turned to leave.


Just as we are getting Adam's shoes on in the lobby, I remembered that I had money (just a few singles) in my pocket I wanted to leave for grandpa so that he could have more cash on hand to ride the bus, since seniors don't ride free anymore.  When I got back to the room, I was going to leave it on the dresser but she immediately waved it off and instead pulled her hospital gown down a little bit so she could keep it with her instead.  It was so funny to me, but I guess she felt like it was a much safer place to keep a few dollars! I gave her another kiss on the cheek and said that I promised to come back soon.


On the way back I was pretty quiet, and mad that I couldn't get to the nursing home to see her sooner than I did.  Trevor tried to make me feel better by pointing out that I got there to visit today, but I could not imagine being in that state, stuck with a TV infront of me all day.  My grandma has no signs of any serious mental illnesses, and it's sadly physical issues that have taken a toll on her.  She had a stroke over 6 years ago and my grandpa has not been  visiting as often as he had because he is old and it takes an hour and a half to get there on public transportation.  My grandma can speak but she doesn't like to because its very very slurred.  I don't know what activities I can bring her next time, but in the past my grandpa brought over coloring books and had her reading some things out loud (surprisingly, very clearly too). I want to go see her as often as my schedule allows, and Adam still has to meet his great-grandpa.  I look forward to the opportunities ahead.