More sad news

Sorry to get away from all of the cute stories about the young 'uns again, but I wanted to take a post and dedicate it to Max and Leo's only great-grandmother, who passed away this morning. She was a staggering 97 years and 11 months old and lived a very full life. In fact, it was only a few years ago that she moved out of her house and into a care facility, impressively living on her own well into her nineties.

Unfortunately, great-grandma and Leo never met. However, Max did get to eastern Manitoba to visit her on a few occasions and we have some good pictures of the two of them together. I'm not sure he'll remember those visits, but I'll be sure to tell him a lot about his great-grandmother as he grows older. How generous she was. How she saved all the salvageable pieces of wrapping paper at Christmas. How she taught me the ins and outs of cribbage. How she loved her curling and her Bombers. How sharp she was, even in her later years.

A part of me is sad too that my upcoming trip to Pinawa, MB will likely be the last time I get out to that corner of the province. I made countless trips out to Pinawa to visit my grandparents, sometimes of the 1-day variety and sometimes longer. I spent lots of time swimming at the lake and then, eventually, at the pool. I bought snacks at the convenience store. I watched the town parade numerous times from the front lawn and played Crown and Anchor (made a killing, usually) at the post-parade festivities. It's probably the only taste of small-town living I'll ever have.

So this one's for you, great-grandma. You'll be missed. Here are my two favourite pictures of you and Max.


I love this picture from the first time great-grandma met Max. I find it interesting that in a few weeks, Leo will be as old as Max was in this picture.


This was taken in the summer of 2008, as Max was learning to walk. He always thought wheelchairs were pretty cool.