Visiting Grandpa

I had to take a few pictures of the kids in the sweaters Grammie brought back from France before heading out to visit Grandpa on Saturday.

In September the four of us started  a routine of visiting Mike's dad in the hospital on Saturday afternoons.  Michael and Sophie are still a little nervous around hospital equipment, but they've come to enjoy toddling down the long hallways and dancing on the table in the visitor's room--it's a thing now.

This week Michael and Sophie brought gifts.  I printed a message for Mike's dad and one for Mike's mom on card stock and taped the paper to highchair trays for the kids to color.  Trading crayons back and forth held most of their attention at first, but they eventually created masterpieces.

This ordeal certainly isn't over, but Mike's dad is recovering well. Whether he'll go home in a wheelchair or with a walker is uncertain at this point, but Mike Sr. has obviously put his mind to getting back on his feet as soon as possible.

While I don't love the idea of my kids facing difficult challenges in their lives, I know tough times are likely to come along.  I hope Michael and Sophie will be inspired in those situations by the story of Grandpa's recovery, a tale of facing a very frightening challenge with a positive attitude and hard work.  We'll see how this tale ends, but I trust it's of the happily ever after variety.