Swing Up High: November 2009

On October 31st, we lost our beloved Gammy Lois Gruman, Blair’s grandma who lived in San Francisco. She passed away peacefully after a short battle with cancer on her wedding anniversary. There is something very peaceful about that; knowing that she will be joined once again with her beloved Allan, Blair’s grandpa on the day they united in marriage.

It was very important to Blair that we make the trip to San Francisco for her memorial service, so that is what we did. It was indeed an accomplishment, being our first trip since his accident. We learned a lot, but we did it. We did it together. Porter loved his first plane ride, although Blair & I were sad that we didn’t get to sit with him to experience it together – we were in first class so Blair would be more comfortable & Porter was in coach with Bapa Robb, Gammy Jan & Aunties Kendra & Tilly. They said he loved looking out the window & thought the takeoff & landing were awesome.

There was a beautiful celebration of Gammy’s life at the church she loved, where many friends & family stood up & shared their favorite memories of her. It was so nice to meet the people in her life; many of whom knew OUR story & had been praying for us & for Blair’s recovery. Gammy was a sweet woman with kind eyes & a big heart. She was the hostess of all hostesses & always made everyone feel comfortable.

While in California, we did manage to find time one afternoon to head to Sacramento to see Gammy Jan’s side of the family as well, which was great, since we had come all that way. We had a great dinner with Jan’s mom, Grandma Audrey as well as her sister & brother-in-law, Aunt Karen & Uncle Bucky, along with most of Blair’s cousins from that side of the family. Porter had a blast just running from one side of the house to the other, while Bucky & Karen took turns scaring him. It was a great visit with extended family we don’t get to see very often with a lot of laughs.

If in the bay area, you can’t leave without seeing the Golden Gate Bridge & the ocean & we found time to conquer both. We enjoyed a beautiful sunny afternoon at Golden Gate Park, followed by a trip to the beach to see the ocean, just as the sun was setting. Priceless. When we told Porter we were going to the ocean to see the waves, he said “…but how is it going to wave?”

All in all, we had a great trip & the important thing is that we did it.