After 92 years on the planet, my grandfather is far from a spring chicken. In the old days when I’d visit his house and we heard the sound of a distant train horn, he’d scoop me up and rush me out to the car so we could make it to the nearby station in time to watch it pass by. As I got older we’d toss the football in his front yard, and he’d give me the boost I needed to get up into the perfect climbing tree that stood outside the kitchen door. Grandad (that’s what I call him) has always been one of my biggest supporters, so it’s been difficult to see less and less of him as the years have gone by and the physical distance between us increased.

When we lost my grandmother eight years ago, we weren’t sure how long Grandad could go on without her. His perseverance at such an advanced age has been nothing short of amazing and inspiring. In the early part of the decade he drove out to Michigan by himself to visit family, and he even made a trip down to Framingham to visit Katie & me in our old house pre-kids. He still lives in the same house in Plattsburgh, NY, although his schedule has slowed down quite a bit in recent years. Based on what I hear from my parents, most of his days go something like this: wake up for breakfast, fall asleep in the chair reading the paper, perhaps a trip out to the shopping area for lunch, return home for another nap, sip through two Miller Genuine Drafts beginning precisely at 4pm, dinner, and then watch TV or movies well into the night. Our Christmas gift to him this year was Seasons 1 & 2 of All in the Family. He doesn’t care for the profanity, violence and nudity that infiltrates most modern movies, so we have to be selective.

Over the holidays my parents were able to get Grandad in on a couple of video chats with the kids and me (you should have seen the look of shock on his face when he witnessed this technology in action!), but it wasn’t the same as seeing each other in person. My parents like to meet up with us in the West Lebanon/Hanover, NH area now and then, so we decided it would be fun to have them bring Grandad along last Saturday. Molly immediately went to work drawing pictures to bring to him. Several times she asked me how old he is, but she had a hard time grasping the concept of NINETY-TWO. She decided she’d just refer to him as “really, really old”, and I said that was fine just so long as she didn’t tell him that.

The girls & I left the house early that morning for the 2-hour drive to NH. We pulled into the PowerHouse Mall and parked next to my parents’ car. Like many men his age, my grandfather doesn’t go very long between bathroom trips so we headed straight for the facilities at Lui Lui restaurant. He looks great for his age, but two knee replacements have greatly limited his mobility. His movement is less a pure walking motion and more a balancing act of lifting one foot straight up and teetering from side to side. Grandad has a cane that he refuses to use in public. I spent much of the day trying to convince him that no one would think less of him for relying on it.

Since we were already at the restaurant, we decided to enjoy an early lunch. Abby took a seat between my mom and Grandad and immediately began to dote on him in her patented 3 year-old way. She didn’t hesitate to lean on him when she was telling a story, and I nearly spit out my drink when she grabbed his glasses and tried them on without asking. Grandad rolled with everything like a champ, insisting that he didn’t mind a bit. And you know what? I believed him. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was savoring every moment he had with his great-grandchildren. The conversation between Grandad, Molly & Abby flowed easily, and it brought back memories of my conversations with him when I was young.

After lunch we decided to walk around the mall a bit. My parents took the girls to their favorite toy store on the second floor, so Grandad & I found an open bench and just chatted. We caught up on football (he’s a Giants fan), he asked about Katie (his exact words were “so how’s your lovely wife doing?”), and he told me a few stories that I’d heard many times before. I snapped photos of him off and on throughout the day, wanting to capture the whole experience for myself and the girls. Nothing in life is certain, and it gets even less certain at age 92.

Grandad needed a new Dartmouth hat, so we decided to make the short trek over to Hanover. Walking on Main Street with him brought back memories of when he and my grandmother would drive over each fall of my college career to take me to lunch at Molly’s Restaurant. As we approached the Co-Op, the impact of missing his nap began to show:

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Grandad: Is this a college town?

Me (confused): Umm… yeah, the campus is straight ahead!

Grandad: What college?

Me (trying not to embarrass him): Oh, we’re at Dartmouth now.

Grandad (embarrassed): Oh, oh, of course… Dartmouth.

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The remainder of our day together flew by. Grandad found his new hat and we enjoyed a coffee at The Dirt Cowboy Cafe. The girls continued to chat him up and shower him with random hugs. At one point Grandad turned to me and said “[My brother-in-law] is always telling me that I need to find a companion. I think all I need is your 2 girls to keep me company”. I hated to see it end, but I knew it was time to hit the road. We said our goodbyes and agreed that we would have to meet up again soon. I left him with a hug and a photo of Molly & Abby playing in our backyard. He smiled as he gazed at it, and promised that he knew just the place for it in his living room.

Several years ago during a holiday dinner at my parents’ house, I walked into the dining room when Grandad didn’t know I was there. He was sitting alone, facing the chair where my late grandmother would have been seated. I heard him say softly “I’m sorry you can’t be here, Beverly.” His tone was more guilty than sad, like he felt he wasn’t worthy of this “extra” time with his family. I can only hope time has erased that guilt, because I can’t imagine a greater gift for my kids than being able to say they got to know their great-grandfather. I like to think that late last Saturday night as Grandad placed that picture in its special spot, he smiled and said “Beverly, let me tell you about the great day I just had…”.

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