I’m sitting in the airport terminal in Dallas, waiting for my connecting flight back to Southern California.
I just got off my flight from St. Louis to Dallas. Sitting across the aisle from me was an older woman who looked remarkably like my Grandmother, at least the Grandma I remember from my childhood.
You could tell that she was very nervous about being on the plane. Each bit of turbulence caused her to tense up and look around to see how the other passengers were reacting. I gave her a reassuring smile each time she looked at me.
It reminded me of the many times my Dad would urge my Grandma to fly out and visit us. For years she never took him up on the offer until about four years ago, when she came out for a short while. She was terrified of flying.
By the time she came out, she was in the early stages of Alzheimers, as she was confused that she was actually in California several times, until she was reminded about it.
It’s sad that she didn’t take my Dad up on his offers. He always offered to pay her way out but she was always too afraid. We never got to really know an apparently wonderful woman. I felt kind of like a stranger at the funeral, when others stood up to share stories and memories of her. I didn’t stand up, because I really had nothing to share. I wish I had.
I wonder where that woman on the plane was going. I wish I would’ve asked her where she was headed. I hope it was to go see her family and spend some time with them.
I’ll share more about my trip when I get home. I can’t wait to see The Babito. My wife told me last night that he was carrying a picture of me around the house last night. It both broke and warmed my heart.
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#1 by Sensibly Sassy on November 8th, 2008
this was a very simple, but very touching post
#2 by Maria on November 9th, 2008
I’m sorry about your grandmother.
The last line was a perfect ending.
#3 by R on November 10th, 2008
I feel the same way about my grandparents. Too late now for most of them. Sad. The Babito part of this post is cute though. I’d go with heartwarming instead of breaking. He loves his daddy and he DOES know who he is.
#4 by becky on November 13th, 2008
awww what a sweet little boy. and my grandma died from alztheimers too….horrible disease. ((DAN))