Piece of Shit #16

Getting old is a long, scary road.

I had originally planned to spend my first 4th of July in Missouri in over 7 years this year. However when we began to discuss the family event that was supposed to take place that holiday weekend, life got in the way. This weekend (July 3rd) my grandparents will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary and they will celebrate it by spending their first night in an assisted living community. Both of their healths have been on the decline for several years now and their have been numerous discussions by the family about them giving up the home in which they built and have resided in for over 55 years, to move into a facility where they could receive specialized attention and constant care. Naturally those conversations ended in protest from the matriarch and patriarch of my mother's family who just weren't ready to accept that their final shred of independence had faded.

My grandmother is severally diabetic and no longer has her vision. She also no longer posses the ability to stand or sit by herself. She has no strength in her legs to carry her own weight anymore. My grandfather who spent his life pouring concrete and towering over everyone at 6" was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago. So for the past few years my ailing grandfather has been placing my immobile grandmother in a chair in their living room every morning, where she sits until she must be moved for trips to the bathroom and ultimately to bed at the end of the day. Despite his ailment he still insisted on driving and was allowed to do so until a few weeks ago when he collapsed in the front yard of their Bourbon, Missouri home. He was legally no longer allowed to drive by the insistence of his doctor. My grandparents became prisoners in their own home. This left them with no choice but to give in to the requests of my mother and uncles.

So this weekend, which was originally set aside to celebrate their 60 years of tumultuous marriage, will be spent with my grandparents voluntarily greeting the last phase of their lives. And even though their marriage has been far from a fairy tale or even a happy one, I have to think that despite the years of bickering, yelling, and shear meanness toward one another, there is comfort in knowing they don't have to greet that last phase alone. I only hope I can be so lucky when that day comes for me.