I Still Remember

Hi All!

It is Thursday! I am tired from being out until nearly 11:00 last night (that darn class!) and I have a bit of a headache (probably because I didn't get enough sleep?!?). Mom is wondering why I am not feeling as happy as I felt last Thursday. I can't figure it out either!

Oh well! I am just pleased to have survived another class with little harm and with some pleasant interaction with my friends. That is one reason I really keep going to the class that I don't enjoy. My friends are there and I get to see them!

In addition to my friends who are actually taking the same class as me, I also have friends in the lab - Deaf friends who have worked with me for the past two and a half years as I struggled to learn the language. They are wonderful people and I miss seeing them more often. When I had class twice a week I would see them more but this once a week deal makes it difficult!

Anyway. I was looking at pictures from my old computer and found these.

This is my Grandpa Denny.


















This picture was taken when Grandpa wasn't as healthy as he once was. He was probably in his 80's in this picture. This isn't how I remember Grandpa Denny.

I remember Grandpa in his white t-shirt and his overalls just coming in from milking the cows and working in the barn. He would take off his work boots and wash up in the garage where there was a sink for just that purpose. Then he would come into the big, warm kitchen smelling like hay and manure (if you were raised in the country it isn't that bad of a smell!). Grandpa would sit in the rocker in the kitchen and chat with everyone before heading downstairs to take a shower before supper.

I loved seeing Grandpa like that. He always seemed so big and strong. He was a hard worker and even as a small child I was proud of that. Seeing him in the barn with the cows or on a tractor in the fields made me feel happy. He was a good, decent, hard-working man.

Grandpa might not have been the most educated person in the world but, to me, he was one of the smartest people in the world. I love him and miss him.

This is my Grandma Frank.

I think I got a lot of my ornery personality from Grandma Frank. She was an amazing woman. Grandma lived on the farm my father was raised on and loved those country roads. She was a speed demon in her car and I always believed that was because she drove the ambulance for the volunteer squad for a number of years. Grandma was also involved in EVERYTHING! She knew everyone and everything that was going on. Grandma enjoyed her gossip.

Grandma lived to be 95 years old and her mind was sharp pretty much to the end. One of my favorite memories of Grandma is when I first told her about meeting Hubby. My parents were living out of the country and so Grandma decided that she should ask all the questions a mother should ask her daughter about a man she met. Let me tell you, some of the questions were hilarious! The conversation ended with both of us laughing because Grandma asked if Hubby was an alcoholic kleptomaniac!

Grandma always had her own opinion of things and didn't do anything she didn't want to do. She was a strong woman and I miss her.

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing surprisingly well! In fact, Susan told me yesterday (on the phone) that my voice sounded excellent. What a compliment! Of course class got my neck and back all tight so I have to work on relaxing that again. *sigh*