a virginia weekend to visit family...

we try to take a yearly trip down to virginia, and so this past weekend we went down (a little too quickly) to see my aunt, uncle & my youngest cousin...and their adorable pets...

 meet dutchess...

  

and berkeley...

 

and a fish named susan...

  

the youngest & oldest cousins in our family (by 22 years!)...

we also make this trip to spend some time with my grandma. i've written about her life with alzheimers before, but it never seems to get easier. she's been living with alzheimers for nearly 14 years now, the last several years have gotten progressively worse. for anyone who hasn't seen her in a while it might be shocking to know her like this. but i thought she looked good the morning we went. her hair was cut & styled nicely, she had on a nice outfit, she had a good appetite, and she was in good spirits. i sat and talked to her, showed her pictures, admired the beautiful quilt a volunteer so selflessly made for my grandmother- a woman she doesn't know, tried to make her say my name just once so i could hear my name in her voice, held her hand, kissed her cheeks, and cried... a lot. i miss her, i miss talking to her, i miss listening to her. i'd give anything for a few lucid moments with her so we could catch up like we used to. i'm sad that my younger cousins will never know her like i did. i'm sad that my own children will likely never get to meet their great grandma...because she was pretty great... and i can't wait until the day when we get to sit down over yodels and a glass of milk and gossip...