On Saturday I went down south to my grandparents house in Olympia. They’ve recently been doing a lot of work to their property and have felt stressed about a lot of backlogged projects. In addition, my grandma has spent some time in the hospital lately in addition to dealing with chronic illnesses, and my grandpa suffers from Parkinson’s disease. And since I’ve been so swamped with work and school for the past year, I haven’t really spent as much time with them as I should. So a few weeks ago I set aside 7/25/09 on my calendar as “Grandparents Day.”
I had a wonderful time just helping out around the house all day. My grandma and I picked buckets of blueberries from the bushes in their yard. We had lunch and chitchatted. In the afternoon I spent hours helping her go through stacks of old photographs that needed to be categorized, filed, and put into albums. I know that project had been bothering her for years, so I was glad I was able to help out. And I stumbled across this lovely gem of my parents in 1979, shortly after their honeymoon. They are only 19!
We thought about attempting to weed the flower gardens, but it was just too dang hot to be outside by that point. Grandpa and Grandma seemed so appreciative and happy to have me there… I really should do this more often.
On Sunday Stewart and I headed north to Bellingham, home of our alma mater, WWU. Stew’s stepbrother is college shopping, so we agreed to give him a tour of Western’s campus and the rest of B’Ham. I hadn’t been back up there in quite a few years and – wow – the memories really came rushing back! My mind was flooded with all the experiences I had throughout those four years of college. We even visited my freshman year dorm room: Ridgeway Beta, Stack 9, Third Floor. I have vivid memories of my parents dropping me off there in their minivan almost 10 years ago. I was such a scared little baby, desperate to fit in but with no idea who I was or wanted to be. Those four years of college really shaped me.
Here’s a pic of me and Stewart in Red Square. I don’t know how many thousands of times I walked by this fountain on my way to class or the library.
I’m so excited for the kids who are preparing to experience college for the first time. Sometimes I would give anything to go back and do it again. But then I blink, come back to reality, and thank god I’m done with that phase of my life.
Did anyone do anything a bit more exciting this weekend?
5 comments:
How nice of you to go help your grandparents. I hope you will be able to see them more often!
My weekend was fabulous! I went to a pool party called Splashdown at the Hyatt in downtown Baltimore. I swam, drank and danced. It rained for like 15 minutes...that didn't stop Jack and I though, we just danced in the rain. Then when the rain stopped, a beautiful rainbow came out over the Inner Harbor. It was wonderful! There are pics on my blog...
M.J. - That sounds absolutely fantastic! Dancing in the rain is amazing... I'm going to check out your pics now. :-)
Ohhhh I love the Western campus! I didn't go to school there, but I had friends who went there and I just love Bellingham. My boyfriend also went there and he always talks about how he loved his college experience. It really is a fantastic school and the campus is just gorgeous, all year round!
Stevie - When I was a senior in high school I toured a bunch of college campuses in Washington, but once I saw Western I was totally hooked... decision made. WWU is such a great school and Bellingham is one of the most beautiful cities in the state. I've definitely never regretted choosing to be a Viking! :-)
Holy cow, Sarah, you look just like your mom in that picture!
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