Sentimental Sunday: Almost There!

Almost There! Photo by Midge Frazel, August 19, 2014, Cranston, RI

Happy Grandparent's Day

Apparently, I am writing in my head all of the time! On a recent trip to my childhood neighborhood area, I put my camera around my neck while we were in the car. I thought there might be some changes in the landscape I wanted to photograph. What I took was some photos that would make great blog posts.

When our daughter was small, we traveled "home" to visit with both hubs parents and mine every month. The grandparents lived about 20 minutes apart in Rhode Island. First, we went to my parents and then his because we usually went on Sunday and my mother-in-law was the church person and didn't arrive home until 12:30 PM.

To keep her amused on the hour car ride, I picked out landmarks along the way. The first photo on the left is the exit off Rt. 95 S. After turning off 95, you needed to stay in the right lane. I called the spot in the second photo, the "almost there" point.

When my father died, we had a service in the funeral home and then rode together to Westerly for a short graveside service. Our daughter wanted to drive her own car to the house and then ride with us. It dawned on me that she might not remember how to get there. 

"Remember the almost there spot!, I said to her on the phone. "Yes," she replied "I can do it! " I was still worried she would drive right by. She did fine. 

She and my mom made sandwiches together in the kitchen for the neighbors who came by after the service. My mom was surprised that people still did that! A few years later, she wrote her wishes and requested that nobody be invited to the graveside except for us. In her dementia, she couldn't remember that I was standing behind her for my dad's graveside service even though I kept telling her I was there.

My mother and my daughter talked about how 50 years is a long time to be married. I could hear them from the dining room and I didn't interfere in their choice of topic. 

When we arrived at this point in our day trip this past month, my husband and I shouted out simultaneously , "Almost there!" and I snapped these photos. Just doing that has helped me get past the years since my loss.

Happy Grandparent's Day!