Posted by
Liana
at
12:41 AM
It's been a long while but I shall continue with what I started with Part I of V.
Love Letters From India & The Notebook ("Love" part II of V)
Pictures. Dance Cards. Newspaper Announcements. Pictures. Pictures. More Pictures. Birth Announcements. Death Announcements. Social Announcements. Pictures. Cards. Love Letters from India. Notebooks. Pictures.
The story of my grandparents courtship in High School in Iowa to the years my grandfather was away serving in World War II, to the birth of my uncle, aunt, and father, and the years that followed.... it was all found in tattered cardboard boxes...the evidence was mostly in the form of yellowed pictures, torn pictures, some with quirky cute notes on the back, some left blank so I’d have to ask questions from those who knew.
I adored the dance cards. They were little paper hearts with miniature pencils attached by a string. My grandfathers name filled the little spaces on my grandmothers mini-paper-hearts.
Then there were the lovely pictures of their female classmates... some sort of very old-fashioned version of senior portraits. My grandfather was a pretty handsome guy and there were lots of pictures of their very beautiful classmates. But he didn’t pick them, he picked grandma. It was her dance card he choose to fill.
Their life and that visit to their nursing home earlier this year brought back images of one of my favorite ‘need-a-good-cry-movies’ “The Notebook” and the similar parallels in their relationships. They had their differences. Plenty of them. And hard times.... my grandmothers stroke was not easy on anybody. But he stayed, and took care of her, and cared for her day in and day out... styled her hair even. My grandmother has not been the same without him. A mess quite honestly. I can’t imagine being in her shoes. Loosing her memory ... bit by bit.... clearly not sure how to operate without her love of 60+ years.
The family leaves the retirement home after the much-needed time together...back to the day-in-and-day out. But some things will never be the same...
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