Making Memories

Hay Springs, Nebraska. Yep, that was my “Spring Break 2010” destination this year. No, it isn’t Cabo, Maui, Padre or any other tropical destination. As a matter of fact, the ground is covered in fresh snow just today, April 6. But, two very special people make this my Spring Break destination each year—my Grandpa and Grandma Raymer. I try to get up here for Easter and spend 3-4 days extra. We eat, play cards, nap, watch westerns, and do it all again the next day. That about sums up the time I spend with them. But that would be my shortest blog ever, so I’ll elaborate.

I love to watch my grandparents interact with each other. Next week they will have been married 63 years, and they still hold hands and flirt with each other. It is so incredible! My grandpa is a man of few words, but today when Grandma was away at her weekly coffee/card party he dug out some old pictures and told me about how he started farming for a Floyd when he was just 15 years-old and Floyd paid Grandpa $60 a month, which back then was a great wage. Grandpa saved that money and bought the first Studebaker that anyone in the area had, and showed me a photo of him in front the car that he paid $1,600 for. Grandma told me yesterday that when they honeymooned they drove that Studebaker all the way from Hay Springs to the West Coast through Yellowstone to Oregon and down to California and back. She kept track of their trip and spent less than $10 per day, including lodging, meals and gas. I love hearing these stories!

Flash forward to present day; there are so many reasons even as a 30-something I love to spend with my grandparents. Here are my top 10 reasons I still vacation at grandparents:

10~Lose touch with reality; no news channels, only Encore Western Channel and the Weather Channel (and whatever channel Wheel of Fortune comes on in the evenings)

9~Feels like the tropics; the older they get, the warmer they keep their house!

8~Free entertainment: card games after breakfast, after lunch, after supper.

7~Grandma tells you that 6 AM is too early to be up and to go back to bed when she sees you in the hallway. Who’s going to argue with Grandma??

6~I will not go hungry. Breakfast consists of fried breakfast meat, fresh fruit, toast and jelly and cereal with milk. And then Grandma says, “We should have a donut.”

5~Three naps per day; they follow the card games.

4~Predictability; each grandparent has a recliner. Each has a crossword puzzle book by their recliner. And before I leave tomorrow, Grandma will say, “What do I have that I can send home with you?”

3~They don’t understand what I’m doing on my computer and iPhone; I don’t understand why we watch Westerns all afternoon!

2~I admire them for everything they’ve worked for all their lives; they admire me for being a “career woman” who works all the time.

1~We love every minute we get to spend together and don’t take any of it for granted!

So, this vacation I won’t be bringing home any souvenirs or pictures or sending any postcards. But, I will be carrying with me another 4 days of priceless memories from two people who I love deeply.