Sunday, November 18, 2012

Four Generations

I am so incredibly lucky. I have so many fond memories of my great grandparents growing up. I remember visiting my Great  Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt's house. Great Grandma Schmidt would always give us a dollar or two when we said good bye and Great Grandpa Schmidt would squeeze our cheeks and kiss us on the forehead. I remember thinking their refrigerator was so fancy - the freezer was on the bottom! I had never seen such a thing growing up; now, I love mine! They had these butterfly and bug magnets that popped out on springs; I loved flicking them and making them move. And, I remember hours spent in Great Grandma's Stefanski's yard; smelling flowers, picking fruit from her trees, watching her garden. I wish I had some of the marbles from the large jar of them that held open her bathroom door. We'd spend hours playing with them on the floor while we listened to the tick-tock of her cuckoo clock. I was so fortunate to grow up knowing three of my great grandparents. Clara and Colton are lucky enough to also have great grandparents. My Grandma and Grandpa Sally are so special and important to me; I want so badly for Clara and Colton to know them and love them like I do. That's hard to do when we only get to visit them a handful of times each year. 

Four Fabulous Ladies
Imagine my joy when my mom suggested she bring Grandma and Grandpa Sally down for a visit before we moved to North Carolina. They made the trip down and we had such a nice time. We did normal things like go to the Commissary and out to dinner, but, mostly we just hung out and enjoyed the time together. Having four generations under one roof was something special. We learned some pretty important things about each other. My grandma, my mom, Clara and I cannot wink with our right eye. Strange, but, apparently hereditary.  It's funny, that all these years I thought I was just weird, I was not alone with this peculiar non-ability. However, I am alone in the fact that I'm the only one of the four females together this weekend who cannot curl my tongue. 

Kiss from Great Grandpa
Colton became instantly attached to Grandpa Sally. If I tried to put his shoes on, I would hear, "No, I want Grandpa to do it." He wanted Grandpa Sally to do everything. Sweet Grandpa Sally was so patient. The same cannot be said for Colton; he didn't quite understand that Grandpa moves a little slower than mommy does. Grandpa even got Colton in and out of his car seat, which was not easy considering ours are a little tricky compared to the non-existent car seats Grandpa buckled his kids into when they were toddlers. 

Snuggles with Great Grandma

Snuggles with Great Grandpa
It was such a wonderful visit. The memories of the laughing, smiling, cuddling and talking with four generations together will be in my heart forever. 

Kiss for Great Grandma