This weekend marks the one year anniversary of when we last visited with Grandma under the same roof. Little did we realize that those news reports of an illness on the other side of the world, would soon be at our neck of the woods, forcing us to keep our distance. But on that seemingly ordinary day we enjoyed just being together. We were there to help Grandma and our Uncle finally clean out Great Nana’s attic. It was Mom’s New Year’s Resolution in 2020 to spend one day each month helping to sort through all the things accumulated in over 70 years of living in that home.
The visit began like any other. Asa twirled and pranced with excitement as he greeted Grandma and our Uncle. I, on the other paw, was showing off my polite greeting skills. For you see, a year ago, I was in the final stages of hopefully earning my Canine Good Citizen Certification. So I patiently sat and waited for Grandma to pet me, once she broke away from Asa’s dancing. Before heading upstairs to the task at hand, there was the usual small talk about our ride down from two states away, and the weather. Then it was time to get to work.
There were laughs as Asa modeled old hats once thought fashionable. There were sighs over cherished belongings, long forgotten, found buried in the boxes. And a lot of smiles, as stories were shared about good times spent with relatives and pets no longer with us. There wasn’t a lot of room to work in the crowded attic. So Dad took Asa and I for a neighborhood walk. We met a friendly dog at the nearby park, and had a impromptu playdate to burn off some of Asa’s energy. Now that I think of it, that may have been the last playdate we’ve had with another dog in a year.
After awhile we all gathered together in the warm living room to celebrate what would have been our Grandpa’s birthday. He’s in heaven now surrounded by all the owners of the treasured memories Mom, Grandma, and our Uncle had just spent organizing. It was just a simple meal of subs from a nearby pizza shop that Dad ran out to buy, and a small cake from a local bakery. A meal my family took for granted, not realizing a simple errand such as that would soon become very complicated. Never in our wildest imaginations did we envision a year later masks would be required and orders would include curbside pickups. While they ate, Asa settled in with his head on Grandma’s lap, and I drifted off to sleep listening to them talk. Little did we realize how special that simple meal together was.
After loading up treasured mementoes in the car for Mom to bring home, and helping to haul other items to the trash and recycling bins, Mom hugged Grandma and we headed home. I don’t even remember if Grandma petted me goodbye. I was in a rush to get home because I could sense dinner time was coming and we had a long drive ahead of us. Asa recalls his last interaction with our Uncle was playing a fun game of keep away, when he ran off with his glove. Oh boy did our Uncle look annoyed, but I’m sure he misses that game now as much as Asa.
Would we have done things differently that day had we known this would be our last visit for a very long time? Probably. But today we treasure those attic memories, and look forward to when all our humans are vaccinated so that we can be together again.
