Change

My grandparents are moving from their two bedroom apartment into a one bedroom apartment. This has been very stressful for both of them - lots of worries about what to do with all the stuff won't fit into the new place - some of which has been moved with them and cherished (or at least stored) since college some 60 years ago.

I'm the oldest grandchild - only ten years younger than their youngest child. Right now, I'm also the one who lives closest to them. This has been great in many ways - Faith loves to go and visit their house and I'm only minutes away if they need something. Their new place will be farther away for me, but probably better for them. It's close to their church and to many of the places they like to go to.

Gma and Gpa have always been there for me. I think it was their faith and belief that eventually brought me back into fully practicing my religion. It's been hard seeing them grow older. They were such young grandparents - my memories of them are so different than my youngest cousins' memories! In many ways, they are like another set of parents to me. I guess this experience of seeing them grow older and more dependent is giving me some practice for what I may be experiencing with my own parents some years down the road. Though I look at my grandparents and then at my still working, extremely active parents and step-parents, and hope that it will be many, many years until that happens.