It's a Family Thing

Not mine, but Patrick's. Patrick got a call from his Dad yesterday - his grandma isn't doing very well. She is almost 91, but still. Patrick loves his grandma's (this is particularly adorable - so upbeat and positive). He decided that he wanted to drive home and visit her. Guess what? He asked me and the kids to go with him. I thought about it and decided that it would be fun. The five hour drive wasn't nearly as hard with another adult to shuffle my son to the bathroom and wait in the car with the kids while I run into the store to get a quick treat for the kids. I had forgotten how much better it is to have two adults with you on road trips. Especially when one is a man and a helpful man to boot.

We arrived and went directly to his Grandma's house. She was really excited to see us and meet the kids. The kids loved her house because she has goats in her backyard (the neighbors) and they got to feed them. The loved exploring and chasing Scooter the kitty. We had lunch and then went to his parents house. We stayed with his parents for two days. The kids loved his parents house because they got to sleep on the trampoline, ride on horses, play with a real Star Wars Storm Trooper helmet, swords, foosball, play kitchen and a dog and two kitties. It's the perfect house for my kids to visit -all the things that they want to have - ie. the dog and cats - but don't. I am not a pet person. I should be my kids loved playing with them. Also, they were really good with the pets, but I am not a pet person. Don't hate me.

His mom and dad told the kids to call them Grandma and Grandpa. Which I was a little uncomfortable with, however, they are grandparents (not to my kids), but I guess it doesn't hurt to call them that. They are already asking to go back to play with the dog and sleep on the tramp.

It was great to see Patrick with my kids on the drive there and during the whole visit. His mom asked us if we needed a chaperon while sleeping on the trampoline - then she followed it up with have you guys done anything inappropriate? Awesome. Kind of embarrassing...just a little.

When we came home he took me to meet his grandma here on a mission. She is working at the Family and Church History Library. We went to dinner and then to the Pioneer Day Celebration. She told me during dinner that Patrick's favorite thing to do when he was younger and came to stay with her during the summer was to ride the weenie..I started laughing and choking on my dinner. Water almost came out of my nose. I was giggling so hard and couldn't stop. Completely inappropriate and horrible especially in front of a sister missionary. I'm sure that I made a great impression. Yep. I can only apologize for my rude behavior.

I like how things are progressing, but I feel like there are some things I need to do so I can move forward with my life. I still have residual anger towards Ned and I need to resolve this and let it go. It would be easier if he would stop being and saying dumb things...I'm working on it. I'm ready to let it go, just can't figure out how.

I love spending time with Patrick and I do miss him when he is gone. He makes me laugh, smile, and he seems to understand me and communicate with me pretty well. I know that we need more time to get to know each other, but so far - I'm loving what I see.

Shirley