Monday, August 30, 2010

The Waiting Room

Sitting in the hospital waiting room for three days, the nostalgia of past years floated through my mind. I thought of being a little girl, sitting on my grandma's lap and then of my little girls recently sitting on her lap. I thought of all her wonderful cooking she spoiled us with throughout the years. I thought of the yearly summer trips we would spend at her house. I thought of her strong will and strong spirit and how she passed that on to her children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

It made me think about how fast time goes by. One minute, I'm celebrating my 5th birthday with her; the next minute, I'm celebrating her 86th birthday with her and my own children. One minute, she's helping me tie my shoe; the next, she needs help tying hers.

One of those long afternoons while sitting in the waiting room with my grandpa, I asked him how they met over 65 years ago. A smile quickly spread across his face and he proceeded with this story.

My brother called me up one day and said, "I know the girl for you!" So he called her up and asked her if I could call her. She was working at the courthouse at the time. When I called and asked her if she'd like to go out sometime she said, "I don't know you." My response was, "It wont take long!" I soon left for two years (in the Navy). When I came back, we were engaged, then we had fun and partied for three months.


I loved how he giggled and smiled throughout his story as he told it. I loved how she waited for him, not only through that first tour of duty, but several others for years to come as he traveled the world.

I especially love how he now sits by her side while she's so ill. The last couple years have included many nights in the hospital and he sits by her side every time. After sixty-some years, they still mean the world to each other.

4 comments:

Tracey Washington said...

This brings tears to my eyes and reminds me of my grandparents. My grandmother broke her shoulder once and she had to sleep in the recliner for a few weeks while her shoulder healed. At 80 something, my grandfather slept on the floor next to her so she could nudge him awake in the middle of the night if she needed his help... he is almost deaf and would otherwise not have heard her.

like our grandparents, I think we all just want that kind of love, the love that still means something after 50 years :)... This will probably end up as a blog post some day :)

Stephani Cochran said...

What a wonderful story! Thanks so much for sharing.

Melanie said...

Beautiful story! Love the pic, too. Hubby and I both have a set a grandparents married for 62 yrs and counting.

Kris H said...

Great story Hollie! Those two mean the world to each other. O the days when I was younger and closer to all my family. Brings back alot of memories. How time flies. I will always remember Gramas home make cinnimon rolls. They were so dank!