A GRANDAUGHTER REUNION

Yesterday afternoon, I rode over to Marina (near Monterey), to see Marc, Chandra & Laila at Chandra's mom's house. It has been quite awhile since I last saw Eloise, and the past year has been difficult for her. Not only did she just lose her husband Joe, but she has also had health issues to deal with. I got a chance to spend some time with her, and she is doing remarkably well considering all that has happened recently. Joe's funeral is tomorrow, and I'll be going back to Marina before heading home to Arizona.
The bright spot of the day for me, was seeing my kids and granddaughter for the first time since the middle of May. Five months doesn't seem like a very long time, but in terms of the growth and maturing of a young child, it's an eternity. Laila will be 5 years old in a few days, and it's amazing to me how fast she has advanced in just a few months. Before we departed for the summer, we drove to Tucson, in order to spend some time with Marc, Chandra and Laila. Even though Laila hasn't physically grown a whole lot, it didn't take a long conversation with her to quickly notice the change and growth of her vocabulary. I was also pleased to see that she lacked the initial shyness that was usually present when we hadn't seen her for a long period of time. She ran up to me for a big hug, which warmed ole Grandpa's heart a whole bunch! I told her that Grandma Patty loved and missed her, and we would both be seeing her a lot during the coming winter months.
As I got ready to head back to the motor home, Marc asked Laila if she wanted to sit on the Harley for a picture, and she quickly agreed. I actually started it up, and moved from the shade into the sunlight, so she got her first ride on a Harley-Davidson. By the time I got back to Hollister, it was almost dark, and time for dinner. I'm almost finished with the two yummy casseroles that Patty fixed for me before I left, and when they're gone, it'll be time to head back to Arizona.