Happy 80th Birthday to my Grandpa Sullivan. I don't know if you ever did this as a kid, but we had nicknames for our Grandpas. My Grandpa Sullivan was Grandpa Pipe because he used to smoke a pipe. Grandpa Bolinger was Grandpa Magic because everytime he was around us kids he performed magic tricks! Such fun!!
Back to Grandpa Sullivan... I have many good memories of my life as a child with him. He always pinched our cheeks between his index and middle fingers! Why?? I don't know, but he always did this!
He would take us into town a lot and people always knew him. He was called "Deb"; short for Delbert. He thought he was a ladies man. We always laughed at him though. It was mostly talk because he was committed to Grandma. He once asked my Mom back in the 80s, "Do you think I look like Tom Selleck? as he raised his eyebrows twice in the way Tom Selleck did on Magnum PI. She said, "No Pop, you put me more in the mind of Colonel Sanders!" (Kentucky Fried Chicken) He had a good laugh over that one.
He was one of the first people to teach me to drive. At first, he would take me on country roads and just let me steer. Then, as time went on, he would let me sit in the drivers seat and drive the car. If I would start swerving too far into the other lane or too close to the ditch, he would let out a "whoop" sound and that was my clue to get 'er back on the road!! :)
He also loved a good pickin' and grinnin' session. He would play the guitar, Grandma would play the mandolin, one great-uncle would play the bass guitar, another played the fiddle and Dad was usually at the piano. Then they'd get to singin'. He loved "The Great Speckled Bird". :)
I speak in the past tense, because it's been many years since he has done some of these things. He had a slight stroke earlier this year and his health is slowly declining. But I love being with my grandparents. Although my Grandma has been dealing with Alzheimers for a few years now, Grandpa still loves her very much and wants her by his side. I'm very blessed to have so many precious memories of them in my life.
We're off to a small family birthday celebration for him tonight. I'm looking forward to it!
1 comment:
This really makes me wish I'd had more time with my grandparents. Long story, but we really weren't around them that much when I was a child. But because of that, I've determined that my children will have lots of memories of their grandparents. I totally enjoyed reading this! Blessings to you and your family.
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