Don't be shy!

I LOVE comments!!!! And if you comment on mine then I will come comment on yours!!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Last weekend.....

My grandparents have been married for 50 years!! Their actual anniversary was two weekend but my aunt Shelly who lives in California couldn't come until last weekend. She actually made all of us think that she couldn't come so we decided we would hold off until this summer when we could all be together and do something FUN! Well my aunt Kim (who lives in Utah) wasn't having it, we made plans to just do fun things with my grandparents this weekend, so she talked Shelly into coming because my aunt Jennifer and her family were already coming (they live in Colorado), so on Thursday night Shelly and 2 of her 3 daughters flew in and Kim brought them to my grandparents house and when they walked in the back door, my grandma started crying..... My grandpa of course was at the gym, when he got home from the gym about an hour later he too started crying, I think that was only the 3rd time I've seen him cry..... It was a great surprise!!!! Jennifer and her family come to Utah all the time and it's so nice that we can get to know her kids and they can know my kids, but Shelly doesn't make it out very often, in fact William didn't remember his cousins, Sarah and Holly. And wouldn't you know it he and 7 year old Holly hit it off!! In fact he cried when he had to say good-bye to her and cried again that night when we were saying prayers...... I guess we will have to make plans to go visit them in California soon.... So what did we do this weekend???
Friday we went swimming at the West Valley Accord center and all the ki
ds had SO much fun, and as I am the only one with children under 8 I had to swim with them, and all the girl cousins were fighting over who got to hold Matthew, who was NOT having that, at first, and then it became a game, and we had to drag him out of the pool, yes he was kicking and screaming about it...... Then we played games at grandma and grandpa's house. Growing up we would always play Bingo with Grandma Metta (my grandma's mom), Kim got all these super cool dollar store prizes that the kids loved!! Then we played UNO, here's the history of UNO in the Sharp family, my grandpa ALWAYS wins, and we all know he CHEATS, but no one has been able to catch him - EVER!! It was so much fun to tell stories and laugh! The grandkids were all sleeping over at G & G's house and as I am technically a grandkid I of course had to sleep over, well my throat had been bothering me all day Friday and Friday night I had a hard time getting to sleep because of it.... So I decide that on Saturday morning I'm going to go to Instacare and make sure it isn't streap, well me Hailey, my mom, and Austin (Hailey's boyfriend), had stayed up and talked until about 1 am and at 6 am when I just couldn't stand laying in bed any longer I got up and my mom was still awake!! I went in to talk to my grandma and she asked me what my mom was doing now and I told her and she told me that she had been up all night going through pictures and crying..... Yes she needs to go to the looney bin but because she has to serve time for her many transgressions and because she can manipulate people like nothing I've ever seen before she will forever be locked up in jail and then released and then go to rehab and then do good for about a year and then screw up and then on and on and on......... I had hoped that she would just stay away for the weekend, but no such luck, she showed up late Thursday night drunker than a skunk, and then decided she HAD to go swimming with us, so that was fun.... So back to Saturday morning, I feel like crap and my mom says, "I'm coming with you to make sure you get what you need.." I tell her I can go by myself and she says "NO I want to come with you.." We drive to Instacare and of course its not open yet, we go to Smith's to kill some time, I kid you not we were looking at bagels and I turn to ask her what she wants and she has disappeared!! I search the whole store and finally find her talking to some random guy and she says to me "where did you go?" I just shake my head and ask her to stay with me... We go to Instacare and I had forgotten that you're supposed to go in the back door, so we wasted about 15 minutes waiting for them to open the front doors, we go around back and there are about 5-6 people in front of me, well then craziness really starts to seep in with my mom..... She is pacing in front of the desk and keeps asking the lady how much longer and if they are hiring, then she goes to a phone they have in the waiting room, I have no idea who she is calling or what she's doing.... They have wheelchairs there and my mom decides that the frost bite and the fact that some guy had kicked her in the leg that she needs a wheelchair, so she gets into a wheelchair and is wheeling herself all over the place!!! I just kept texting my aunt to have someone come and get her and playing games on my phone, hoping that the other people there will think she is by herself.....Suddenly she and another lady in the waiting room go out to have a cigarette, and I get called back and also get a text from my grandma that she is there to get my mom, whew!! I'm back there for all of 5 minutes, they test me for streap, its negative and send me on my way....
Saturday's activites included going to
my cousin's hockey game, dinner at Chuck-A-Rama and then a little birthday party for my mom (she turned 48 on Saturday), pictures, and more games, we decided to for-go the hockey game because we knew we would just be chasing Matty all over the place, and I needed some sleep!! We got to Chuck-A-Rama and there is a HUGE line, and my family is all there already sitting down and eating..... We finally get through the line, and get settled, well my mom starts clearing everyone's plates for them, and is asking if she can refill anyone's drinks.... Like she is our waitress, and is talking really loud and if you've ever been there then you know she had to be LOUD to be heard over the bustle of the place..... Finally back at G & G's and we were able to take pictures, sing to my mom, and give my grandparents their gift from all of us; a nice big porch swing! Kim also put together a scrapbook (we each did a page), I scanned a TON of their old pictures and put them on discs for everyone, and loaded them on their digital photo frame and I'm going to make them a hard bound scrapbook of their old pictures and the weekend's festivities once I get the pictures from my sister and aunts! Dispite my mother's crazy rantings and embarassing all of us a little, I know my grandparents loved every minute of being together as a family and it was SO GOOD to finally get almost ALL of us together.
My grandparents are two of the most generous and kind people that I know, they have shaped me into the person that I am. They open their arms and love anyone and will help anyone that they can. I love them so much and I'm so thankful that they were willing to take me and raise me as their own, never making me feel like it was a burden on them, even though I'm sure part of it was. They love everyone unconditionally and even though it's been rough with my mom and sister they can still say they love her and bare their burdens well. I can't imagine being married for 50 years what an accomplishment! and a
lot of love that they have for each other and their family! Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa, we love you and are so appreciative of everything you have done for us. We named William after the best man on earth in hopes that he can not only carry the name but also the characteristics that his great-grandpa possesses! LOVE LOVE LOVE you guys with all my heart!!

5 comments:

About Us said...

What a sweet surprise for them! I just love your grandparents! They were always so nice to me. How unfortunate that your mother is still up to her antics. Sounds like an interesting weekend, to say the least.

Alice said...

Tiff, what a cute and wonderful way to honor your grandparents. I don't know them or your mom but just by knowing you I know what wonderful people they are. To take in their grandkids and raise them as their own. Congrats to them on 50 years!

Derek-Jenny-Kaitlynd-Ethan-Dylan said...

Tiff
I am crying!

What a crazy weekend. I know your Grandparents love you so much. They have been blessed to have raised you and you are blessed to have been raised by such AWESOME people.

As far as your MOM.....Oh, I am so sorry. I totally get it. Frustrated, disappointed, a longing for them to act their age....I get it all. We could share stories for hours.
I love you and I am so proud of how you put up with her. You will be blessed in the afterlife for putting up with and still loving a person with mental disabilities.

Keep on Keepin' on!
Love you girl! Tell your Grandparents "HELLO" and congrats!

Mandy said...

Wow - I can't believe Uncle Hal and Aunt Sylvia have been married 50 years! That's so great. How neat that you were all able to be together for the weekend!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE your grandma..she always had me laughing about something. Im sorry to hear you are still having "problems" with your mom..hopefully one day she will get herselft together. love ya Tiff!