I Have a Heart Condition

It's a hole...and it can only be filled by these two:

Are those two of the most precious faces on the Earth??? Meet our grandsons, Jacob (7) and Adam aka Moosie (2). 

A couple of weeks ago, my son Joe and my daughter-in-law Debbie had the chance to take a vacation, so they drove down to LA from Oregon to spend some time with friends and family and then on to Las Vegas for some grownup time. I'm sure they had a great time, but WE had the best part of the whole trip...we got to keep the boys for four days!

Now what makes this so special is, it had been 3 years since we'd seen Jacob and Debbie, longer since we'd seen Joe, and we had never seen Moosie, except in pictures and on Skype. (If you don't have Skype and you have grandchildren...get it...get it NOW!) They started planning this trip a year before it happened so we had a long wait for that wonderful morning when our family finally arrived.

Dave went out to meet the car, and I waited in the lobby, here at Golden Acres. We'd decided to meet them there, so we could show them where to park, and because there was just more hugging room. First Jacob came running in. OH!!...I could hardly stand to turn him loose, once I got my arms around him. He's the firstborn. He's handsome and charming and smart...OMG is he ever smart. He's in the first grade and he's reading on 5th grade level. He told his parents he was more excited about seeing Grandma and Grampy than he was about going to Disneyland. Here he is right after he came in:

Then came Moosie. Our first look, face to face. Pictures are great, and Skype is fantastic, but there is nothing like getting your arms around someone you love. He came rolling in with Grampy, riding on the front of his chair, just like Jacob did when he was younger. 

Here he is...my first look at this beautiful baby.

My greatest fear was soon put to rest. I was afraid that he would be scared of me. It only took a couple of minutes for us to bond. For the rest of the visit he was MY boy.

We all had dinner together, Joe and Debbie left for Vegas, and we were on our own. I had a two-year-old for the first time in 25 years. And this was all virgin territory for Dave. After dinner we watched the boys play with some of the toys we'd bought for the visit, and then it was bedtime. After pj's and kisses all around, Jacob hopped into bed and dropped right off. He must have been tired. I gathered Moosie up into what lap I have, and we rocked in the rocking chair a little bit. It didn't take long for him to drop off too. I put him into his travel crib and marveled at my two sleeping angels. 

Fast forward to 2am. I heard a little whimper and found that my mom instincts were still intact, as I immediately awoke. Moosie was standing in his crib, so I went over and asked him..."Baby, why are you awake? It's still sleepy time." That child looked at me like I was dumber than a box of rocks and said, "Diaper". Oh yeah....those...I'd forgotten that little boys need a diaper change in the middle of the night. I said..."Oh, I'm sorry...is it wet?"....he said..."Wet."....like, can we get on with this so I can go back to sleep?

The next two days were spent in typical kid mode. Waffles for breakfast accompanied by Spongebob Squarepants. Baking cookies in the afternoon, and a movie in the theater room that evening. Chicken nuggets and blue box mac & cheese. Fruit cups and Gogurts and sippy cups.

I dragged those poor boys around so much...to meet all our friends and to show them off. They were so well behaved. I was so proud. A week later, my friends were still commenting on how polite Jacob was, and how sweet Moosie was. Jacob always remembered his manners, no matter how many people he'd been introduced to. He even asked permission before petting my friend Jim's little dog. (Jim said "Kids don't talk that way!!"...I said, "Mine do". ) Joe and Debbie deserve full credit for that. They are wonderful parents, and I'm so proud of them. I wish I'd done some of the things with my boys that Deb has done with hers. 

When the time came for them to leave, I tried really hard not to cry. So did Grampy. We tried, but we lost that one. It was so hard to let them go. I just wanted to hold them and not turn them loose until they were ready for college. I know they are busy, and our travel days are over, but I hope it won't be another 3 years before we see them again. In the meantime, I'm grateful for pictures and videos and Skype. But nothing can fill that hole in my heart like the warmth of their hugs.

I'll leave you with some pictures, before I cry again.

My handsome son Joe and his beautiful wife, Debbie. Now you see where those boys get their looks.

Be still, my heart!!

Remember this boy...he's going to be something special to the world when he grows up.

My family. My loves. My heart.