Ding Bats

Chels and I had our evening with Grams last night. As I drove over to meet Chels at Grams' new place I was a little nervous to be honest. The last time I saw her and spoke to her was at Mallory's wedding and she certainly wasn't her good ol' cheery self.

The moment she opened the door and saw Chels and I all of my nerves washed away. She greeted us with open arms and a huge squeeze. We asked her if she had eaten (it was 5:30) and she said "no." We then asked if she would like to eat in the cafeteria, or if she would rather go to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries with us. She was hesitant to give her opinion, but eventually she fessed up and said she would really like to get a burger.

We showed her the board that hangs in every 5 Guys that states what part of Idaho they got the potatoes from that day. She thought that was fabulous. And, she loved that they had bags of potatoes lining the tables. She told us how she used to move bags of potatoes to earn money when she was young. Chels and I told her that she is so dang tuff and she laughed at us. She at about 90% of her cheeseburger, and we all voted on the fact that we would skip the fries so we could have ice cream after our burgers.

We got 3 hot fudge shakes and headed back to her place to watch a movie and enjoy our treats. Oklahoma was the movie we ended up on. Chels and I were so shocked at the things Grams found funny. The red pantaloons that the peddler tried to sell the ladies were by far the thing that sent her into a laughter. She had tears streaming down her face even. She asked me to get up and dance for her several times throughout the movie (why she never asked Chels is beyond me). I finally got up and sang in my best-joking opera voice right along with Milly and she got a kick out of it.

Part way through the movie mom called and said that Harold was at Uncle Dave's waiting for us to leave. We told Grams we would go so that he could come over and she said "Oh pooh!" And then said that she wanted us to stay a while longer, Harold could wait if he was going to be like that. We stayed another 20 minutes and then told her we better head. It was about 7:45 then.
I know I rambled on and on, I apologize for the length. But I was just so happy to see Grams as her old self. We laughed the entire time, and called each other "ding bats" as we always have. I left in the best mood I've been in for a very long time. I've missed seeing my Grams like her old self, and it was so good to remember that feeling I get when I'm around her. Chels and I are definitely looking forward to our next visit.