My two youngest sons, Alex and Jeremy, flew to Atlanta last weekend to see their grandmother. I think they were fearful, if they did not, they might not see her again alive. Alex ( 27 ) brought his lovely fiance, Laura, and Jeremy ( 25 ) brought his girlfriend, Katie. Neither of them had ever met the boy's grandmother before. For me, after two weeks of dealing with my mother's stroke and cardiac problem, it meant a great deal to have them there. I picked them up at the airport, then we stopped by the extended care facility to see my mother. She seemed to recognize her grandsons but she was so tired, we did not stay long. We then drove down to Columbus where the children ( hard to call two strapping 6'4" boys "children" ) helped me finish dismantling things at my mother's house. The following day, when my brother came down with a rental truck, they loaded up furniture and we said farewell to my home town and headed back to Atlanta.
On Sunday, we returned to Gwinnett Extended Care and Grandma seemed in better spirits. She actually called her grandsons by name and responded to their banter and talked about the "pretty girls" with them. Laura showed "Grandma" her engagement ring which actually had belonged to my mother. It was all a very emotional time for me. We took pictures, of course, and, all too soon, it was time to take them to the airport.
The following day, when I visited my mother, she said, "You know, Carmen, Alex and Jeremy came yesterday with their pretty girls. It made me happy."
Since that time, my mother has had more bad days than good. The day I left to return to San Francisco, I could not even wake her up to say goodbye. At least, though, I know she is in the best place she can be and, a few times, she did know who I was and called me by name. It makes me feel good that that the visit of her grandsons afforded her some happiness.
Alex, Jeremy, Carmen and Mary Quinlan
Jeremy, Katie, and Grandma
Laura, Alex and Grandma
My boys and their girls, Laura and Katie, my brother, Charley, and his wife, Susan, my crazy nephew, Matt, who never takes a picture without making a face, and his girlfriend, Stephanie
Laura, Alex ( wearing his shirt I got at the Piazza Navonna in Rome ), Jeremy and Katie
