Grandpa and Grandma Mann

Sorry it's been so long! I've been busy working. Yep, remember when I said I was working 33 hours per week? That's been changed to almost 40. I know, you all work that much with more kids than me, but dang, I'm still getting used to this!

Anyway, the above picture is of my sister, Abby, my brother, Brian and me. We were at my Grandma and Grandpa Mann's house here. It was in December 2000 right after my Grandpa had died. He was 86 when he passed, and he lived a lot longer than we thought he would after Grandma passed in 1995. To tell you the truth, I didn't know my grandpa all that well, or my grandma for that matter. We would see them at least twice a year, but I never really spent that much time with them. Now, of course, I wish I would have. He and my grandma were just always the older grandparents, compared with my dad's parents. I think we kids just felt like we could relate more to Grams and Gramps Smith. We just felt closer to them.

A few days before we'd pack up and leave for Arizona to visit them, my mom and dad would ship a big box of toys there so we would have something to do while we were there. There was always the obligatory, "I love you, and have missed you!" And then we were off to do whatever there was to do that day. And then at night before we went to bed, "Sleep well, I love you. See you in the morning." Of course we spend mealtimes together, but other than that, we just did our thing, and they did theirs.

I do remember talking to my grandma about her childhood and Mom's childhood. She had pictures of all of her children and grandchildren, and she would always have a story that went with each picture. My grandpa, it seemed, was pretty gruff, and I have to say that I was a little timid around him. I was a shy kid, so I'm sure that had something to do with it. I feel strange because I cried at my grandma's funeral, but not at his. I feel very mixed emotions about this.

This time of year though, I remember the good times we had. I loved to sit in the front seat of their car and "help" him drive. I remember him always picking us up from the airport and smelling his cigarettes while he smoked. I remember the cocktail hour at their house, and how Grandma would always make me a Shirley Temple or sometimes, a Roy Rogers. Yum! We kids would sit on the fireplace hearth and drink them.

I would love to say that they're in Heaven, but I'm just not sure about that. They never went to church with us while we were there. which doesn't mean they weren't Christians, but they never talked about it either. I remember my mom praying for them at dinnertime and at bedtime. Only God knows where they are, and I pray I will see them when I get to Heaven.