The Goodbye Day

This day began more than early when Mr. Fun's cellphone rang at 3:00 a.m. It was his 87 year old mother telling him she thought she was having a heart attack and she wanted to know what to do. "Oh my gosh, Mom, dial 911! and I'll be right there!" he told her. Well, he arrived at her home across town and she still had not phoned 911. So he did. The ambulance came and to the hospital she went.

At about 5:30 a.m. he came back home. He had left her in ER because she insisted that he go back home and get some sleep because she knew this was the day we needed to get Desiree and Tristan to the airport. He was sure she would be admitted to the hospital, so he felt it was okay to leave her. At about 6:40 a.m. the phone rang and the ER nurse was letting him know that his mom was released (it wasn't a heart attack) and she needed a ride home. So it was back to Kaiser Medical Center in Riverside to get her and bring her home.

Meanwhile, I was at home with Tristan, who was awake a few minutes after 6:00 with wet pajamas. He's potty-trained and wears "pull-ups" for night time, but often by morning they are soaked.

Tristan's mommy was sound asleep in her room; we knew she was not feeling well when she went to bed last night. So we did a make-shift jammie repair and entertained Tristan with Gramma Rosie's iPad. We played all kinds of games . . . number games, alphabet games, did some drawing, popped bubbles, and found the fireworks program. He was entertained with all of that for just so long. He really wanted to see Spiderman. So finally we gave-in and found some Spiderman YouTubes for little Tristan. The first row of photos reveals Tristan's rapt attention as he stares at the iPad (it appears that Grandpa Fun could get sucked into the iPad also).

Aunt Dede came over for a short while to hug, to hold, and to love on Tristan and Desiree for a few minutes before heading to work. Everyone was having a difficult time saying goodbye to these two, especially Dede.

On the way to the airport the four of us stopped for lunch. Then it was time to get checked-in. They had a 2:10 flight from Ontario to Phoenix and then will change planes to arrive after 10:00 p.m. in Oklahoma City.

As Grandpa and Desiree unpacked the luggage from the trunk of the car, I held Tristan on my hip and walked toward the terminal. He asked me if I was going on an airplane. I started to explain that I wasn't and he was when my voice choked-up and my tears begin to spill down my face. (I am just not as equipped at holding my tears as I used to be.)

Little Tristan looked into my eyes and I could see him almost hold his breath and then his little face started to flush pink and his eyes started to fill with tears and just watching him start to cry because I was crying caused me to giggle. Then we were both laughing at each other and a moment that seemed like it could be overwhelmingly sad, lightened just enough that my heart didn't break.

These past 12 days with Tristan have been extremely meaningful. How many people ever get the privilege of hanging out with their great-grandchildren? I'm sure more than I think, but it certainly is a privilege. He fills our life with a joy that is indescribable.

Spending time with Desiree has been meaningful too. We see growth and maturity since a year ago -- I guess the "school of hard knocks" will either grow us up or wipe us out. We think she has done some growing. She is certainly more appreciative and more thankful. We do think that she is terribly distracted from her role of mothering by her cellphone with the constant texting and uploading to FaceBook. This concerns us, but we are not sure how to speak to this issue without alienating her . . . family dynamics are so much fun (not really).

So our home now feels enormously empty. The combination of Desiree and Tristan being gone mixed with the absence of Bob dog is toxic, so we are about to make our exit for the evening. We think we'll head to Orange County to Open Mic Night in Yorba Linda where we'll find our friends Scott & Peg (and their kids and preschool grandkids are here visiting from Houston, Texas).

Honest, this photo collage is better in large . . . tap the magnifying glass to see the large view.

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments. I hope to be back to blipping normal soon, except I don't think I ever find "normal" anymore except on the dial on the clothes dryer.

Good night from Southern California.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol

P.S. I've backblipped everything from last week's family camp except for Friday--I'll get to that soon. Friday was so special that I don't want to write quickly and miss some of the details that I'll enjoy reading years from now.