2022 Tuesday — The Goodbye

After two nights and one full day, these three: granddaughter Ashly, her hubby Robert, and little RJ — have now packed their things, loaded their truck, and the final moments are upon us, and just like that -- a hug, a squeeze, an "I love you" -- and they are gone. They have 4-hours of travel time to reach their home in north Fontana.

And we have hours of time to adjust to their absence, to the quiet, to the souvenirs of little fingerprints on our front windows, and well, every grandparent knows what we are feeling . . . blinking rapidly to halt a tear from sliding over the edge of my eye; the “oh darn, I forgot to give them the whole milk in the frig”; and breathing deep to cover a heart sigh. It's the hardest part of their visit; their leaving. The best part -- their visit -- does not happen without the hard part.

The hard part is better, way better, than not having them come here at all. But the hard part, the first hours they are gone are so very tender, so contemplative, so hyper emotional.

And that was our Tuesday. Yes, we also had sheets to change and wash and towels too. And what seemed like a million things to put back in order because we moved to the private downstairs guest room so they could sleep upstairs where there is also room for little RJ to have a bed. So by evening we were thoroughly exhausted from not only the exuberance of a couple days with an almost 3-year-old, but also the reorganization of this house. A good exhaustion.

Signing off as
a very emotional grandparent
Good night from
California's Central Coast,
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol
and Chloe & Mitzi too!