The land of 80 year olds!

You're probably thinking "walkers, lime jell-o, and snoring...oh joy!" But we're not talking about any regular 80 year olds. We're talking my Grandparents. The infamous Gramma & Grampa K. And while they might enjoy some lime jell-o from time to time (who doesn't!), they don't sit around snoring, and they certainly don't need walkers.

So without further ado, here's a little peek into my afternoon date with two of my most favorite people in the world:


I spent this past Sunday afternoon with my Grandparents. Gramma was in the hospital (the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit to be exact) from last Wednesday - Friday. By the time I got to their apartment on Sunday afternoon, she was back in her stylish clothes, color fully returned to her cheeks, hair styled, and full from a mid-morning brunch with friends. Grampa was also full of energy and bolted down four flights of stairs to let me in their building before I was hardly out of my car. That's right, he ran down the stairs. No elevator for him! But of course, this is the same guy that, without prompting, will stand on one leg in the middle of a crowded restaurant while asking strangers to "guess how old I am? No really, guess?!"


I went over to G&G's with full intentions of a lazy afternoon of chatting and watching old re-runs on TVLand -- figuring they'd tire of me shortly before dinner (which is at 4:30pm).


About an hour into my visit, after Grampa had happily filled a plastic bag with all of the "gifts" he'd been saving up to give my mom (mainly office supplies -- sorry mom!), and shown me a few things around his office, we somehow got on the subject of PacMan. Specifically, the plug-in PacMan game they have for their TV, which they got for about $12 at Toys 'R Us. Grampa decided we should hook up the PacMan and I should show off my 'skills' (or lack there of). I played about 20 consecutive games, certain they were bored with watching me play. But no sooner had I declared "ok, that's probably enough" than Grampa jumped up from his seat and moved me to the side so he could take a turn. He played a few games and then insisted that Gramma play. One game in and she beat -- no scratch that -- she CRUSHED both of our high scores. She claimed it was because she had 20+ years of PacMan playing experience under her belt. I think she secretly plays at night, after Grampa goes to bed. Finishing just before he gets up at 3:00am to exercise. I KNOW, 3:00am, right?? You'd be hard pressed to find me getting up before 9:00am for any reason other than a work day...and definitely not to exercise. But hey, that's why at 80+ years old, he can stand on one leg while doing the hand jive and reciting the alphabet backwards.


Mid PacMan play, Grampa looked at Gramma and said "what do you think...Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner?" Before Gramma could say "ok!" Grampa turned to me and said "what do you think, want to join us at Kentucky Fried for dinner?" I was slightly tentative because I'm not a big fried chicken fan...but it was my Grandparents, who I rarely get alone time with so I happily accepted the invitation! And then I remembered it was a KFC/Taco bell...and well...we all know I love some taco bell.

So another hour of PacMan, and at 4:30pm on the dot, we all jumped up to get ready to head to KFC. Seeing as it had been particularly warm for a January day, I had been sans coat when I arrived that afternoon. But seeing as Grampa will wear a windbreaker in July, he made me try on one of their coats (which shockingly fit! I'm like an amazon compared to my grandparents)...and then "suggested" that I wear the coat...just in case. I tried to convince them that I was plenty warm enough, but they didn't buy it, so I brought the coat along. (And yes, I even put it on a few times. Not just to appease them, but because Grampa was right -- it had gotten cold out.)

At dinner G&G split a 4 piece chicken dinner and I had two crunchy tacos, which Grampa shook his head at because he thought I should've eaten more for dinner. But thank goodness I didn't because before we had even finished dinner, he suggested we hit up McDonald's for dessert. Grampa, who LOVES McDonald's coupons, had just given me a stack which contained coupons for free hot chocolates. When we got to McDonald's, he was upset to learn he had no coupons with him. Fortunately I had the coupons he just gave me in my purse. It took a lot of convincing to get him to take my coupons...but he promised he would mail me new ones the next day (even though I have about 25 more at home). So we got hot chocolates and sundaes and apple pies. (Which, by the way, Grampa and I were both shocked to find out that one apple pie at McD's costs 99 cents. But two apple pies at McD's? $1. Maddening.) So Grampa got two pies and told me to take the other one home. I put it in my purse...and then forgot it was in there until the next morning...whoops. Fortunately only 1 cent was wasted.


While we were at McD's, I'm pretty sure there was a table of gang members sitting behind us. I was very uneasy, but G&G were completely un-phased. So much so, that when we stood up to leave, Grampa started a conversation with them, told them he'd been in 3 wars, and showed them how he could stand on one leg. They didn't speak much English, but seemed extremely amused none-the-less. And one of them even asked me if I was married. I'm pretty sure I actually heard his heart break when I told him that in fact, I was.

I was beyond relieved when we got back in Grampa's mafia car (no seriously, that's what I call it because it's a huge, beautiful, black Buick that looks like a serious Italian mafia Godfather would own it), and locked the doors. We headed back to their apartment and they dropped me off at my car. We all kissed goodbye and they thanked me for spending time with them. But in actuality, I was the one who was most grateful that they allowed me to spend the afternoon/evening with them. I feel truly blessed to have them both in my life still, and while completely quirky and a bit hilarious, I wouldn't have changed a single thing about that day...except next time, I'm getting there earlier!

And much to my surprise, when I got home from work yesterday Todd said "there's a letter from your Grandparents in the mail". Sure enough, it was a sweet note from my Gramma, and the free hot chocolate coupons from McD's, along with a couple of extra coupons with a note from Grampa that said "thought you deserved some interest on the loan". But truth be told, spending that time with them was all the reward I needed. It was truly priceless. And I can't wait for the next adventure in the land of 80+ year olds! :)