While I was in Indiana, I visited both my sets of grandparents. One set is my dad's dad and his wife (my paternal grandmother passed away when I was 8, from Breast Cancer) and the other set is my mom's mom and dad (although he's the only Grandpa I've ever known and he adopted my mom, he is not my mom's biological father). Anyhow, they got to meet and visit with the Baby for the first time and I got a difficult reminder of what life looks like as you age. But, one thing REALLY bothered me while we were there, which is why I've put off writing about it for so long.

My dad's dad (Grandpa B) and wife have been living in an assisted living facility, in their own apartment, for about a decade. Through the ups and downs in their physical health, they have been able to transition from the hospital, nursing home, and back to their apartment as needed. Throughout the entire time, they've never had to deal with declining mental faculties... yet.. which is a huge praise as they are both 90 years old now.

My mom's mom (Grandma L) and dad, on the other hand, are a different story. Honestly, I suspect they are getting into the early stages of dementia. They've not had it easy in terms of physical health ever. My Grandma has had four DIFFERENT types of cancer! The first one was Stomach cancer that she got when I was 13. They caught it accidentally and she was cured by removal of most of her stomach. Next, she found out she had skin cancer and thankfully it was the slow-growing kind. Next, they found a small mass on one of her lungs and, at Mayo Clinic, they put a piece of radiation inside of her and cured her of it. Last has been Colon Cancer, and although most of it was removed, I believe she still has some. She also has been diagnosed with Parkinson's and has been nearly bed-bound for over 20 years due to emphysema.

But, these are not the things that really bother me. My grandma has had a long-standing attitude that she may die any minute which started when I was in my early teens. Although she is saved, she is not from the era of Christians who rejoiced in KNOWING they are saved, but yet she "hopes" she is saved. This is despite any Bible reading on my part to inform her of the contrary. <sigh>

But, that's not the part that really bothers me either. Seeing my grandparents age and eventually seeing their death is difficult, but yet it is part of the byproduct of having lived a long, beautiful life where they have even got to meet their great-grandchildren.

The part that bothers me is this: Because of being alone, watching a lot of TV, and side-effects from medication, and suspected dementia, my mom's parents have become very suspicious and sometimes mean. A couple of years ago, when I visited, they accused me of stealing some of their medication. I thought they were joking, but they were not. They had recently seen a documentary on TV stating how it was a growing epidemic for children and grand-children to steal their parents' and grandparents' medications. I came to find out that it was only 4 pills and my grandpa has misplaced everything from his car keys, own medicine, and GPS since... But, for this, I will always remember the pain of my grandparents thinking I would steal from them.

I was only able to visit for a few hours due to this, and I just plain miss them and the ability to speak to them regularly, without suspicion on their part.