Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Nan left today, and my heart feels a little empty today. She slid right into our lives here in Michigan, and it was almost like she had always been here. Abbey talks about Grandma a lot, but she has started to talk about “Grandma and Nan” as though they are an indivisible team. We spent a lot of time gallivanting around town and just talking and playing at my mom’s house. We went to the zoo, where Nan was present for a record-breaking attendance day. Seriously, Good Friday saw a decade-long attendance record!

There’s something special about spending time with her on a day-to-day basis. I will miss the way she could make Dylan giggle and laugh. I will miss the way she tirelessly played with Abbey and the way that Abbey said her name. I will miss the way she can make me feel special and beautiful, as only a grandma can. I mean, we’re talking about someone who told me I would look too thin if I lost fifteen pounds!

She was here almost a month, and I am incredibly grateful that we were able to have such a long visit with her. I know that the kids and I were lucky to spend the amount of time with her that we did, in such a large chunk. However, sometimes my heart can be selfish, even when my head knows I have a lot for which to be thankful. So I wish she could have stayed longer. We will see her again in June, but two months seems a long way off today!

Nan made us all look bad with her animal pictures that actually look like the animals she is drawing.  (Let's just say that I get jealous when Abbey asks Ryan to draw a snake, because she asks me to draw things like hippos!)

Four generations