Tag Archives: grandparents

Goodbye Grandpa (or Remembering A Full Life)

Posted on April 7, 2015 | 7 comments

Early on Thursday morning, my grandpa passed away.

As you are reading this, I’m in San Diego spending time with my family. Our focus is on my grandma and making sure that she is ok and that everything that needs to be taken care of is done.

But I wanted to share with you all how badass my grandpa was. He and I had a complicated relationship, but he loved me and I loved him. And he really did live so much in his 92 years (he would have turned 93 next month).

I don’t know a ton about my grandpa’s childhood. I know that he wrote down his history and his family history on his computer somewhere, and I hope that we are able to locate that document. I really want to have that myself so I can remember where he came from and what happened when he was young.

Grandpa young

My grandpa was not someone who talked about the past a lot. In fact, I had no idea that he was in Germany in WWII fighting the Nazis until he was talking about it maybe 5 years ago.

Grandpa WWII

When he and my grandma got married they first lived in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Grandpa Lake Charles

They lived there for a while (my mom, aunt, and uncle were all born there) before moving to LA.

I’ve been to their houses in LA before, but sadly I don’t have any photos of that on my computer. But they lived in the valley and had some really cool houses.

Grandma and Grandpa

While they lived in LA, they lived it up! My grandpa got a boat and he, my grandma, my mom, my aunt, and my uncle sailed on it a lot. I’ve heard so many stories from their time on the boat, especially when they were in Catalina. My favorite story is actually one about my mom when she was hit in the face with a flying fish one evening in Catalina. But I think my entire family thinks that story is pretty awesome.

He also loved to fly. He flew a small plane that was just big enough for the family.

Grandpa Plane

They flew all over the US on lots of different trips. They would fly to Louisiana to go back to visit family and my mom, aunt, and uncle got to travel the US by plane quite a bit. I think that if he could have flown that plane for the rest of his life, he would have.

Once my grandpa retired, they moved down to San Diego. But even in retirement, my grandpa never slowed down. He designed the backyard and swimming pool at their house, and I don’t think that anyone could have done it better. And they had the best orange trees and the orange juice was freshly squeezed every visit.

Grandpa House Rancho Santa Fe

I think if I had to pick one of his favorite things to do, it would be to travel. My grandparents always seemed to go on these epic trips, both within the US and internationally. My grandpa traveled to all 7 continents (even Antarctica!) and inspired me to hope to do the same in my lifetime.

Grandpa Travels

Sometimes my parents, my brother, and I was lucky enough to get to join my grandparents on the trips they did. One of the most epic trips that we did as a big extended family was to go to Africa together.

50th Anniversary in Africa

This trip was for my grandparents’ 50th anniversary. All 3 generations (this was way before my cousin had her kids) of the family were there to experience the safari together. Besides my grandparents’ anniversary we also celebrated my parents’ 15th anniversary, my cousin’s 15th birthday, and my 14th birthday while we were in Africa. That was definitely one of the best birthdays that I ever had. My grandpa really wanted all of us to go to Africa together because he had loved it there when he and my grandma went before and he wanted to make sure that we could all experience it as well.

But more than traveling, he loved my grandma.

Grandma and Grandpa 60th Anniversary

Last September they celebrated their 67th anniversary and they seemed in as much love as ever.

Grandma and Grandpa 67th Anniversary

Last Thanksgiving, almost everyone in my family was able to be together (only one cousin wasn’t able to make it). We took a family photo after dinner and I’m so glad that we were able to get one more (almost) full family photo.

Thanksgiving 2014

While I am sad that my grandpa passed away, I can only admire how full of a life he lived. He really maximized every day that he had and I don’t think that he had any regrets of things that he wasn’t able to do (except maybe to keep flying a plane later in life).

I will always remember my grandpa as the one who got me to drink martinis (and I got him hooked on blue cheese stuffed olives), who loved to email dirty jokes to the entire family, and the one who gave me my love of traveling.

Thank you Grandpa for everything that you did for our family and for loving us all as much as you did. I know that there will be a hole in our family now that can’t be filled. But we will all try to live life to the fullest to honor how you lived your life.

Grandpa 60th Anniversary

Robert Joseph Fry (May 29, 1922-April 2, 2015)

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San Diego Day (or Hanging Out With Family On My Day Off)

Posted on February 18, 2015 | 1 comment

I always have Mondays off from my main day job (I work Tuesday-Saturday). I usually just spend the day getting stuff done around my house or running errands. They tend to be pretty lazy days (except for my workout).

But this past Monday my mom was down in San Diego visiting with my grandparents. Her cousin Karen (who I haven’t seen in over 20 years) was also down in San Diego. So I rearranged my day so I could spend a couple of hours in San Diego with everyone.

After an early workout and showering and dressing, I was on the road by 10:30am. The drive went much better than it has in the past. I was down at my grandparents’ place in 2 hours and arrived a few seconds after my mom and cousin Karen got there from their hotel as well.

Most of the day was spent in my grandparents’ condo just catching up. I hadn’t seen my grandparents’ since Thanksgiving so it was awesome to get to see them again. And my mom was at the tail end of a multi-state trip so she was filling me in on everything that she did. And of course, getting to talk with cousin Karen a lot.

We all went out for Mexican food for dinner. I knew we’d be going out to dinner, so I had planned my meals accordingly and saved a lot of calories for the meal. I also had done some research on good vegetarian options at Mexican restaurants (I still haven’t brought meat back into my diet yet).

I ended up getting Huevos Rancheros. It’s somewhat close to what I would make as a rice bowl at home, just with some eggs. Now that I’m being careful with what I’m eating, I’m realizing how difficult it can be to eat out. I had no control over oil, salt, or any other extras that were added into my meal. So I had to try to guess the nutrition levels of my meal as best as I could. But since I was careful with my breakfast and lunch, I think it was ok to splurge a little on my dinner. And I didn’t have any chips or partake in the pitcher of margaritas that the table got.

After dinner, we all headed back to my grandparents’ place and I got my car so I could head home again. I ended up being in San Diego for just under 7 hours, so that’s a pretty good visit.

The drive home was easy again and I was home in time to get some stuff done in preparation for my work week.

I’m so glad that the timing of things worked out so well for me to have a family day on Monday. My family has always been important to me, but I’ve realized lately that I need to put in a better effort to see my family. Time goes by quickly and I can easily go a few months without going to San Diego to see my grandparents and that’s not good. I might be going down to see them again in 2 months when my parents (and dog) are down there. But I’m still trying to work out the timing for that.

I know that it doesn’t seem like I did a lot on my day trip to San Diego, but just being around my family is such a great way for me to recharge and get ready to kick some butt again in my life.

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First Half Of Thanksgiving (or Hanukkah Gifts And Birthdays)

Posted on December 2, 2014 | Comments Off on First Half Of Thanksgiving (or Hanukkah Gifts And Birthdays)

Thanksgiving this year was held in San Diego. That’s where my grandparents live, and it’s easier for the rest of us to travel to them than for them to travel to another location. I only had Thanksgiving Day off from my box office job, but I had shortened hours the day before and after. So I figured I could work from the house that my mom rented for us and spend a couple of days with my family.

I started my drive right after my work shift ended on Tuesday. It should have been just before rush hour started, but the traffic was horrible the second I got onto the freeway.

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What should have been a 2 hour drive ended up being over 4 hours (I have a history of that drive taking a long time). But I was better for me to be stuck in traffic but making progress than to be sitting at home waiting for the traffic to die down.

When I got to the rental house, my parents were there along with my grandparents and my aunt and uncle (my aunt, uncle, and cousin were also staying at the rental house with us). My brother arrived shortly after (he flew in to San Diego but my sister-in-law had to stay in San Francisco and work). We spent some time catching up as a family and then my aunt and uncle drove my grandparents back to their place.

While it was just my parents and my brother, I decided that it was the perfect time to give them the Hanukkah presents I brought with me. My brother got a gift that was from me, my parents, and my sister-in-law and my dad got a gift that was from me, my mom, my brother, and my sister-in-law. They both got awesome (and pricey) gifts so they were group gifts.

For my dad, we all chipped in and got him a custom chair and foot rest that is made from old skis. It’s being made right now and hopefully my dad will get it sometime this month. It’s going to be for Tahoe, and my mom had to do some spy work and measuring to make sure it would fit there. But it will and I can’t wait until it’s delivered so my dad can enjoy it!

And for my brother, we all chipped in and got him a GoPro. He loves to do videos while he is snowboarding and he usually makes my dad film him. But this way, he can do the videos himself. And from the look on his face when he opened the gift, I think he loves it.

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As for my mom, I got her a gift certificate for Shutterfly. She’s going to be getting a new iPhone soon and she likes to make custom photo cases. I would have loved to have made a case for her, but I don’t know what phone she is getting. So this way, when she upgrades her phone, she can make the case that she wants.

After presents, we sat around and relaxed. I was trying to hang out with Tucker, but clearly he was missing my brother more than me and I was getting ignored.

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I don’t mind too much. Ross gets to see Tucker pretty often where as I have only seen him a handful of times.

The next day was a relaxing family day. My cousin Adam arrived in San Diego and all of us spent most of the day hanging around the house and enjoying the view.

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I had to work in the morning, but I set up my laptop and phone in the kitchen so I could still be a part of the conversation. Fortunately, it was a very quiet day at work. We also made a quick trip to the dog park for Tucker to burn off some of his energy.

That evening had such a wonderful sunset and we were spoiled with an amazing view.

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And once the sun was down, it was time for us to head out to dinner. We celebrate my grandma’s birthday on the evening before Thanksgiving. We went to an Italian restaurant that we go to as a family often as they have a private room that is the perfect size for us.

At the restaurant, my other aunt and my cousin and her family were there. It was great to see my cousin, her husband, and her 3 kids again. I hadn’t seen them since last year and all of her kids are so much bigger! I got to sit next to her son, Dalton, at dinner. And he kept me pretty entertained with all of his stories and craziness.

And of course, there was cake for my grandma.

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After dinner, we headed back to the rental house so we could get some sleep to be ready for Thanksgiving the next day. I can’t wait to share with you tomorrow how Thanksgiving went. It really has become one of my favorite family memories ever.

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67 Years (or Celebrating An Anniversary With Fondue)

Posted on September 10, 2014 | 1 comment

This past Sunday was my grandparents’ 67th anniversary. I’ve been lucky enough to get to celebrate with my grandparents on their anniversary a couple of times. For their 50th and 60th, we had big events (their 50th was in Africa and their 60th was a family party in Portland). This year, we were doing a low-key dinner in San Diego.

That morning I went to breakfast with my parents and Krystle (and Tucker of course) and then we did some walking around at the seaport. Then Krystle had to get to the airport so she could get back to San Francisco. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to stay for the dinner because there weren’t that many flight options for her.

After saying goodbye to Krystle, my parents and I headed back to the hobbit house where we got all of us stuff together to go out that evening (and I packed my car since I’d be driving home straight from dinner).

We got to my grandparents’ place around 1pm and spent the afternoon talking. We asked my grandparents what their big memories were from their wedding and I asked my grandparents how they met (I had never heard that story before). It was really cool to get to hear them tell it and my mom actually took video of it so we can share it with other family members who couldn’t make it out to San Diego that weekend.

We all got ready to go to dinner and then we drove over to the place where the restaurant was.

We went to The Melting Pot for dinner. I had never been there and had never really had fondue before. My only experience with fondue was a single serving of goat cheese fondue that came with some bread at a restaurant once. But this was nothing like that.

We all decided to get the 4 course dinner (it was actually cheaper than getting 2 courses on our own). Between the 6 of us at dinner, we selected 2 cheese fondues to start with, then we each got our own salad. The main course was interesting. We each got to choose up to 3 meats and then as a table we got to choose 2 different cooking liquids. Then you had to cook your meat in the hot cooking liquids.

While it was fun, it was a little messy and crazy at times. All of us lost at least one piece of meat in the cooking liquid because we had so many fondue forks in the pot at one time. But it was pretty yummy.

After the main course, we were all stuffed. But we still had the dessert course to go. As a table we selected 2 types of chocolate (I don’t really remember what they were but they were both dark chocolate). Then they brought over a selection of cakes and fruit to dip into the chocolate.

The plate that my grandparents got had 2 candles in it for their anniversary.

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I tried a little of the dessert fondue, but I was only able to take a few bites since I was so full from the other courses.

Before we knew it, dinner was over. My mom and I left a little early so we could get our cars (we didn’t want my grandparents to have to walk too far to the car and it was parked in a parking garage). When my mom and I got our cars back to the restaurant, everyone else got into my mom’s car so they could all go back together. I said goodbye to everyone and made the 2 hour drive back home (no car breakdowns this time!).

I’m so lucky that I got to spend time with my grandparents on their anniversary. Since I live pretty close it makes it easy enough for me to come down to see them. I don’t think I’ll make it down again before Thanksgiving, but November will be here before we know it!

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Day Trip To San Diego (or Driving Disasters)

Posted on July 29, 2014 | 3 comments

This past Saturday I went down to San Diego to spend the day with my grandparents. I hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving, so I was way overdue for a trip down there.

The drive from my house to my grandparents’ place usually takes exactly 2 hours from my door to their door. There’s always a little traffic, but I usually can time out my drives to be when there’s the least traffic.

My drive down was pretty bad. From my house until Disneyland I was going at full speed. Then all of a sudden, traffic was ridiculous. I averaged about 20-30mph for the rest of the drive. It took me 4 hours to get there, and once I did arrive I was pretty exhausted.

As soon as I got to San Diego I picked up my grandpa to take him to the grocery store. That was a very easy and quick errand and we were back to my grandparents’ place within 30 minutes. Then I got to spend some nice quality time with my grandparents just chatting about anything.

We discussed my job situation, Tucker (who my grandparents haven’t met yet), politics, and lots of other random stuff. What I found most interesting was my grandpa talking about his time in WWII and the Korean War. I only learned recently that he was in WWII (it’s not something that’s ever really ever been discussed in my family) and I only learned on Saturday about my grandpa being a part of the Korean War. I know that my grandpa has been working on a book of all of his stories, and I really hope that he gets to finish it. There are so many things about him that I don’t know.

I also got to go to dinner with my grandparents. It was nice, but nothing too fancy. After dinner, it was time for me to drive home.

There was no traffic on the road when I started so I figured I’d be home in 2 hours.

Wrong.

After about 30 minutes of driving, my car chimed and in the dash it had a warning that said something like “Hot Engine Temperature”. I’ve had this warning once before and it went away after a minute of driving a little less aggressively. So I thought it might be the case again. Instead, after a few minutes of driving, the car chimed again and the warning now said “Stop Car Now”.

It’s never a good sign when your car says to stop. I pulled over to the shoulder of the freeway and then my car shut off by itself. The first thing I did was call my parents. I’m not sure what they could have done from a distance, but that’s my reaction when anything bad happens.

My dad told me to tell my car cool down for a minute and then to drive to an exit and get a tow back to LA. Fortunately, when my parents renewed my AAA membership they got me AAA Plus. That allowed me to get up to 100 miles of free towing (my old membership only had 5 miles of free towing).

When I called AAA, the guy who answered the phone knew exactly where I was from my description (it was an abandoned parking lot off of an exit near Camp Pendleton) so he could give the tow truck very clear directions for me.

Then I had to wait about 90 minutes for the truck to arrive. I tried to not be too upset or mad because I didn’t know what was wrong with my car but I was pretty sure I didn’t do anything to cause it. At least I had a nice view from the place I was waiting.

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The tow truck finally arrived and I’ll admit that it was a little sad watching my car get put onto the tow bed.

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2 hours riding in the tow truck later (which by the way I had the most awesome tow truck driver, Bob), I was home and my car was being unloaded.

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I was able to drive my car into my driveway and when I did the warnings had all gone away. But I knew that there was something wrong with my car and I didn’t want to drive it until it was fixed.

Fortunately, I found a repair shop close to my house and open on Sunday! It’s called Fix Car Now and they have a couple of different locations. I took my car in Sunday at 8am and the shop gave me a ride back home so I didn’t have to wait there. At 9am I found out that the water pump cooling system for my hybrid motor (the electric motor, not the gas one) was broken. It’s a known issue for my car so they were able to get parts for it pretty easily.

It took until yesterday for them to finish my car, but I did get my car back and it’s running even better than before. My car had issues over the past few years switching from the gas engine to the electric engine. But now that my car was fixed, it’s switching as quickly as it did when I got it!

The lesson in all of this for me was to stay focused on positives and being grateful even when things seem to suck. I’ve owned my car since 2008 (I got it used) and besides having a dead battery once (the normal battery, not the hybrid one), this is the first problem I’ve ever had with this car. And since I’m not working yet, my parents were willing to help me the cost of this repair. And while I was sitting in the tow truck really mad about everything, I tried to find a really good positive about this situation. The one I came up with was technically the tow ride was saving me gas money since I didn’t drive my car home.

Even in the worst circumstances there’s always something positive you can focus on. Even if it’s something small or stupid, that’s what I need to think about and not all the negative things.

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A Belated Mother’s Day Post (or The Awesome Women In My Family)

Posted on May 16, 2014 | Comments Off on A Belated Mother’s Day Post (or The Awesome Women In My Family)

I know that Mother’s Day was almost a week ago, but I wanted to write a post about it anyway.

Growing up, I’m sure my dad always made sure that my brother and I did awesome things for our mom on Mother’s Day. Once I moved to LA to go to college, I know I always sent a card to my mom, my grandma, and my great-aunt (the closest person to a grandma on my dad’s side).

After college for a couple of years, I had a pretty set Mother’s Day weekend tradition. My parents would come down here on the Friday before. Then on Saturday morning, my mom would drive to San Diego to go to my grandparent’s house while my dad and I did the Revlon Run/Walk 5K. After my dad and I finished the 5K, we would get into my car and head down to San Diego to join the rest of the family. We would go to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate Mother’s Day. Then on Sunday, I would go up to Laguna Hills to celebrate with my Great-Aunt Shirley (my dad’s aunt).

This tradition really maximized who I got to spend Mother’s Day with. Sadly, a few years ago, my Great-Aunt Shirley passed away.

After that, my Mother’s Day traveling pretty much ended. Last year I went down to San Diego because my parents were down there, but that was a trip that just happened to fall on Mother’s Day.

But just because I didn’t see my mom or my grandma on Mother’s Day doesn’t mean that I didn’t celebrate them.

I think you all know by now how incredible my mom is. She’s kicked so much butt in the past year that I wonder if I could be that awesome in my entire lifetime.

And my grandma is pretty amazing too. She and I get to talk on the phone pretty much every week, and she’s always excited to hear about what adventures I’ve had since we last talked. Sadly, life is pretty much work, work, and more work these days, but she still loves to hear about it. She’s done very well since her fall last year and is possibly stronger now then she was before.

I got to talk to both my mom and grandma this past Sunday. Of course, I sent them both cards. And hopefully I’ll get to see both of them soon. I’m hoping to pick a day to go down to San Diego to see my grandparents this summer and I’m currently planning a trip to Tahoe to see my parents in the next month or so.

But even though I don’t get to see my mom and grandma a lot, I’m sure that they know I love them and appreciate them every day (not just on Mother’s Day).

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This picture was taken in 2007 at my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary. It was also taken when I was at my thinnest I’ve ever been as an adult.

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Grandma’s Birthday Dinner (or One Of Our Thanksgiving Traditions)

Posted on November 29, 2013 | Comments Off on Grandma’s Birthday Dinner (or One Of Our Thanksgiving Traditions)

I’ll do my recap of my Thanksgiving on Monday, but first, I’m going to share with you my Wednesday.

Ever since I can remember, my family has celebrated my grandma’s birthday along with Thanksgiving. For years, we would go out on Friday night to a nice dinner, but recently we’ve switched that to be on Wednesday night.

So after a kind of crazy drive to San Diego (it took me twice as long to get there because of so many car accidents on the road), I went over to my grandparent’s place to meet up with them before dinner.

The dinner was at The Godfather restaurant. We’ve had my grandma’s birthday dinner there in the past, and I like it because my family gets a private room (we kind of need to with so many of us being there including some noisy little kids).

As soon as my cousin’s son Dalton saw me, he came running over. Dalton and I have a special bond. Ever since we met for the first time, we’ve been super close. And I love him just as much as he loves me. Of course, I made sure that he was going to sit right next to me. I don’t get to see him too often, so when I do I want to make sure I get as much time with him as possible.

Dinner was good. The food was as good as I remember it (I’m glad that I forgot to eat breakfast and lunch on Wednesday because there was a ton of food). And the conversation was fun too.

This year is a little weird for me because I’m the only person from my immediate family at Thanksgiving. My brother has missed it before, but my parents have always been there. But with my mom having chemo on Wednesdays, there wasn’t really a way for my parents to drive down (and now with the dog’s cancer it would be difficult to have him here too). As soon as dinner was done, I called my mom to fill her in on what happened, who said what, and if any big family announcements were made (my cousin has announced her engagement and pregnancies at Thanksgiving dinner in the past).

Even though it kind of stinks to stay at a hotel alone, I’m so grateful that I spend my Thanksgiving with my extended family. We have 4 generations at Thanksgiving now and I know that something that a lot of people can’t say. I’m also grateful for the fun Thanksgiving traditions my family has, especially celebrating my grandma’s birthday.

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Mother’s Day (or Another Day Trip To San Diego)

Posted on May 15, 2013 | 1 comment

The past few years I’ve been going to San Diego to see my grandparents for Mother’s Day. In the past, my dad did the Revlon 5K with me and then he and I would drive to San Diego together (my mom would drive while we were doing the 5K).

This year, my parents were on a trip and were already in San Diego on Mother’s Day. So on Sunday, I drove down alone to see my parents and grandparents.

My grandma has been doing really well since her hip surgery. The Friday before Mother’s Day she was able to leave the skilled nursing care and return home, so that was very exciting!

It took me exactly 2 hours to get from my house to my grandparents’ place, and it was actually a really nice drive.

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Most of the day was spent visiting. My grandma got to FaceTime with my cousin’s brand new baby boy, Hudson.

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It was really cool to get to see the baby. I don’t know when I’m going to get to meet him in person, so FaceTime is a good substitute. I also got to talk with my cousin’s other two kids, who are super adorable (I didn’t get a chance to try to take screenshots then).

I gave my mom and grandma their presents. I got my mom a purse hook, but since I had to order it online, I printed a picture of it and put it in her card.

And I got my grandma some new slippers she could wear inside her house (so she doesn’t slip again).

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My mom made a great brisket dinner. Seriously, I can never make brisket as good as she does. We also had homemade meringues with strawberries for dessert.

About 7 hours after I got there, I had to start my drive back home so I could go to bed at a decent hour. I’m not sure if I’m going to get to see my grandparents before Thanksgiving, but maybe when my work calms down in the fall I can do another day trip. I’ll be seeing my parents again in August when we celebrate my 30th birthday.

I’m so happy that I live close enough to my grandparents to see them a lot. I’ve now had the time to make the drive there and back 3 times in the past 3 months. That’s pretty awesome!

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Family Day (or How A Broken Hip Allowed Me To Celebrate My Mom’s Birthday With Her)

Posted on April 8, 2013 | Comments Off on Family Day (or How A Broken Hip Allowed Me To Celebrate My Mom’s Birthday With Her)

As I mentioned before, my grandma fell and broke her hip. As soon as I heard about that, I wanted to go down to San Diego to see her.

But my mom advised me to wait until we knew that she would want visitors.

My parents were down in San Diego taking care of my grandma, and my mom said that I could go down on Thursday, which was my mom’s birthday.

So on Thursday, I made the 2 hour drive down to San Diego. The original plan was for me to see my grandma at the hospital, but she was doing so well, that the day I came down she got moved to the skilled nursing care in the building she lives in.

So when I arrived, I waited for my parents to meet me at my grandparents’ building. It was a gorgeous day out.

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Once my parents got there, we grabbed a quick lunch while we waited for my grandma to be brought over. And pretty much as soon as she was settled into her new room, we all went down to visit her.

Considering that she had just had a major fall and surgery, she looked amazing! She was a little tired from everything, so the visit was pretty short. But I’ll see her again for Mother’s Day, so that isn’t too far away.

After the visit, I went over with my parents to the hotel that they were staying in for a few days. Our dog Dante made himself at home pretty quickly.

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And then we all dressed for dinner. Since it was my mom’s birthday, we went out for fancy steaks at Donovan’s Steakhouse. I was excited for a yummy meal, but even more excited as this was the first time I got to celebrate my mom’s birthday with her since I was in high school!

Dinner was delicious. I had the twin filet medallions off the Prix Fixe menu.

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And a split of Prosecco since we were celebrating my mom.

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And then my mom got a birthday creme brûlée.

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I had ordered cheesecake as my dessert course.

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It was so much food, so I got a little to-go box for half of my steak and some of my mashed potatoes.

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It made a very delicious breakfast the next day.

After dinner, it was time for me to make the 2 hour drive back home. I’m so glad that I got to see my mom on her birthday. I wasn’t expecting that at all (I mailed her birthday card to the house and she won’t get it until they get back). I wish that the reason we were all together wasn’t because my grandma got hurt, but I’m trying to focus on the positives of that visit.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

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More Hip Issues (or Wish It Was Me)

Posted on April 3, 2013 | Comments Off on More Hip Issues (or Wish It Was Me)

If you follow me on twitter or Facebook, you have some idea of what’s been going on in my life the past few days. But here’s my recap for the rest of you.

On Monday, I called my mom for some silly reason. It was probably something about an upcoming doctors appointment or something. I honestly don’t remember. But a few minutes in to our conversation, my mom let me know that something had happened to my grandma.

From what we understand, she was walking on the hardwood floor in my grandparents’ place in socks and slipped and fell. She wasn’t able to get up, so my grandpa got help. Turns out, my grandma broke her hip.

All day Monday, my family wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen. We pretty much knew she needed surgery, but we weren’t sure what exactly was going to be done.

Finally on Monday evening, my grandma went in to surgery for a partial hip replacement. She did wonderfully in surgery.

I’ve been staying in touch with several family members the past few days. My aunt and mom both got to talk with my grandma yesterday, so they let me know that she is in good spirits (and is recovering nicely).

I’ve previously mentioned my hip issues, but my grandma’s is much more extensive than mine. But my aunt has had both her hips replaced in the past so she can really help my grandma understand what she needs to do in recovery. Yes, that’s 3 generations of hip issues in my family (although if you are being technical, my aunt isn’t blood related, but I don’t count that).

I’m hoping with encouragement from my aunt and all the rest of my family members, my grandma can get back to her usual self in the projected recovery time.

I’d appreciate all positive and healing thoughts for my grandma. I know she isn’t going through the easiest time. I’m going to go down to see her this week so I’m hoping that I can cheer her up just a little.

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