Brad in Tennessee

Guest Post by Brad:

Mom and Dad (Grandma and Grandpa Justice) are slowing down their travel so I decided to take a long weekend and visit them in Tennessee on a solo trip.  Dad is 81 and Mom is 78.  It was really nice to stay with them for a few days without the hustle and bustle of travel or a bunch of people. 

Fall was in the air and colors were beautiful.  This is picture of the little walk from Mom and Dad’s house down to Julie and Jeff’s:

I did whatever they did and went wherever they went.  At this point in their retirement, things are quiet and slow.  They live in a quiet and slow country town.  It’s perfect.

We drove down the streets of McMinnville listening to oldies music and enjoying the fall colors.  It was like going back in time to the 1950s—while driving in Dad’s luxurious Range Rover. 

I had a chance to meet Dad’s cat herd.  A number of months back he found a feral momma cat with a litter of kittens in a log hollow in his backyard.  Since then he has attempted to domesticate them through a series of feedings, petting, cooing, oooing, and ahhhing.  He has been so successful that the momma had another litter of kittens and the neighborhood is overflowing with them.

I woke up in the morning before them and they were peaking through the windows, waiting for breakfast.  How many cats do you spy in this picture?

Every night we would have dinner together.  Mom cooked twice and we went out to dinner twice.  After dinner we would put on our pajamas and watch 2 or 3 shows, NCIS being the favorite.  Between 9 and 9:30 we would go to bed. 

Mornings were nice and slow.  They would emerge from their room about 8:30 am while I was already getting some work done.  By noon we would be off to lunch together.  I got a sampling of their favorite places—Four Corners (an Amish sandwich place), Kimmie’s at the golf course and the burger place. 

I noticed that my brother, Jeff, was still very present in their lives.  They both include him in their prayers over dinner.  They visit him weekly in the cemetery.  Dad has something of an ofrenda with a variety of Jeff’s pictures up in his office closet.  Every time he goes into file something away he says hello to Jeff.  They miss him and are aware that they will see him soon—saying as much when they pray.

They were waiting with me to visit Jeff’s grave so we could decorate it for Halloween.  Dad found special Trick or Treat signs and attached a metal bar in the back so we could nail it in.  I did the hammering, Dad did the “it should be straighter”-ing.  

Mom and I went on a breakfast date at a place on Main.

Dad and I washed the cars like we did for years in California.

I had a chance to visit Matt and Heidi in Thompson Station and play a few games with their kids.  Check out this cool book library Matt built for Heidi in front of their house.

We ended the weekend with a nice dinner at Uncle Julio’s in Brentwood.  It was a great Mexican food place with a fun surprise at the end—a chocolate pinata!  Mom did the honors and broke it open for us.  

As my parents get old, it is deeply heartwarming to spend time like this together.  I love them.  They did their very best to raise me and my siblings. I choose to savor the time together.  All of the slow drives, oldies music, car washing, breakfast dates, lunches, early bedtimes and chocolate pinatas.  I’ll take it all.