Legacy

Last weekend, my brother graduated from college. He is the 3rd of four of us who have now graduated. For as long as I can remember, my grandparents have all been very involved in our lives and have gone to as much of our life events as possible.

I am extremely lucky because I still have 3 of 4 grandparents who are all still very active; two of them still work at least 1 day per week and the 3rd volunteers at different places. They are between the ages of 81 and 85.

For the trip to Stockton for the graduation, my parents rented a mini-van and picked up the crew of grandparents (my mom termed it the "senior citizen mobile" so they wouldn't have to drive all the way down. They picked me up at work since it was on the way down and had a very enjoyable day. On the way home, I sat all the way in the back with my grandfather and he was telling me some stories about him and his brothers from the war days. I always love hearing stories when he is able to talk about them because it's a legacy. I get this feeling inside when I hear him and my grandmother who was a nurse during the war talk about their experiences. It's something that I will fortunately never have to know about.

Sitting in that car on Saturday I was having mixed emotions between being happy and sad. I am so lucky to be 27 years old and still have my grandparents in my life. However, the older they get, the more vulnerable I feel they are and that's what makes me so sad. At times, they appear frail and have difficulties getting around. I know this is part of life....