Grandma and Grandpa Falkiewicz

Right now I'm sitting in my room, looking at a mirror that is sitting on my dresser, and realizing that something is out of place. The mirror is framed on the sides and bottom with small wooden drawers. On the top there is a shelf. My Grandpa John made this mirror, and, for as long as I can remember, it had hung in the dining room of their Norfolk home of some 50+ years, on a wall filled with pictures of their grandchildren, and directly below a large baby picture of me.

Within the last seven months, my grandparents on my mother's side have both passed away. My Grandma Anne died at age 90, in the end of August after being ill with alzheimers for eight years. Last Wednesday, just one day after his 95th birthday, my grandfather peacefully passed away. These two have set the bar high for my life expectancy! More than anything, I loved and was proud of my grandparents. This blog is in their memory.

Grandma Anne was a sweet, humble, and religious woman. As a faithful Catholic, she would attend daily mass. Some of my favorite memories were going to mass with her, and having everyone approach us after service to say hello. On more than one occasion, priests and bishops would confuse her for a nun (since after Vatican II, habits were not required, and since my granmother always was at church wearing her simple wooden cross on a leather lanyard.) She loved God, and always was excited to go on her "journey" with the Lord. Years before she died, she would tell us all to "rejoice" when we got the phone call that she had passed.

I have so many memories with my Grandmother. When my brother and I were younger, she would take us on scavenger hunts around her neighborhood to look for treasures like cicada shells and buttercups. She would take us to Lakewood Park to play in the big, cement, painted tunnels, watching us climb through them and helping us climb over them. She would make cookies, and put them in the freezer so they would be cold when we would eat them. She put diced grapes in her salads, and topped them with Italain dressing, served with a side of her homemade biscuits. She played Sorry and Boggle with us. Even when she had lost most of her memory of who we all were (with the odd exception being that she never forgot my brother, who is the youngest of her eight grandchildren by 15 years), she still maintained her light-hearted character, and flirty/ goofy personality.

My grandma loved going to the zoo with us. We would always go watch the animals, and her favorites were always the monkeys. She would say "look at them putting on a little show for me," and tell them they were cute. She also loved to go out for icecream, and always got vanilla with strawberries, wet nuts and whipped cream. She was very social, and loved going anywhere. Her best times were always spent at family get togethers, and I can't blame her because we are a fun crowd!

On one of our trips to Williamsburg, as my mother, aunt, grandmother, and cousin were sitting down to lunch, my grandma told us the story of how she knew she was supposed to be with my grandfather. She met him in New York city, and they had later attended a dance together. While they were dancing, she looked up in the corner of the room, and she saw an angel. Truly, they were a match made in heaven, and were together for 67 years until my grandmother passed away.

I have heard of people dying from a broken heart after their spouse passes away. My grandfather was too stubborn not to make it to his 95th birthday first. My grandfather was a caregiver until the day he died. He took care of my grandmother through her illness. He called my mother every night at 8pm, after she was diagnosed with cancer, to see how she and the family were doing, and would always say "Give Lucky (my dog) a pat on the head for me," and laugh. When he was 82 years old (maybe not so shocking if you knew he drove until he was 93), he drove from Norfolk, VA to Valdosta, GA to come see and help take care of me when I was diagnosed with juvenille diabetes.

He always gave great advice. Brush your teeth if you want to curb your sweet tooth- the clean feeling fights hunger. Become a pro-tennis player; those guys make a lot of money to have fun. Here is $2.00, don't spend it all in one place.

The last time I saw him he told me to run for US Senate, and started talking VA politics with me. He thought the best path for my law schooling was politics. At Christmas we bought him a USC law golf shirt, and he was always telling stories about how people would ask him about it, and that he would brag about his granddaughter. He even told me he tried to recruit a young man to go to law school at a Christmas party. He was so proud of me. When he had visitors he would point to my baby picture and tell them "See that baby? That's my granddaughter. Guess what? That baby is in law school now!"

As retired Navy, he would tell us war stories, take us to the commisary to shop, and to the naval airport (with earphones) to watch the planes take off. He would send us care-packages with all kinds of goodies (candy, stuffed animals, etc), since (for all but 5 years) my family lived out of Virginia. He would take us to Azalea Gardens to look at the flowers and ride the boats, to the cafeteria to grab a sandwich, or just about anywhere since my grandmother never had her driver's license. When his vision became bad, he told us that he would put his thumbs up on the steering wheel and line them up with the lines of the road so he knew he was staying on the road (another thing the man loved to give was driving advice!!)

He also had the BEST stories ever.

- He was concieved in Poland, and born in Detroit. His parents, decending from Lithuanian dukes and dutchesses, moved to America and had to leave his sister, who was two years old and had chicken pox so could not board the boat, in the old country. Although my grandfather corresponded with his sister, he never met her, but met her children who would come visit.

- He was a golf caddy for Babe Ruth! Also, some of the golfers he caddied for would light their cigars, mind you DURING THE DEPRESSION, with $20 bills.

- He remembered seeing firetrucks pulled by HORSES in Detroit (the city where automobiles were born!)

-When he was 16 he lied about his age and joined the navy. In his 30s, he fought in WWII, stationed as a sub-chaser. He went AWOL, and was put in jail when they found him at one point. He recieved an honorable discharge, and at his funeral had the navy do a gun salute, play taps, and thank us, from the President, for his service. Just like my grandmother wanted us all to be nuns and priests, he always wanted his kids/ grandkids to join the navy.

This memory is the most appropriate to end on. Every time we would leave their Norfolk home to drive back to where our family was living at the time, my grandparents would stand on the doorstep and wave goodbye, until we were out of sight. I can still see them, on the top of the red steps, standing behind the glass door. My grandfather's arm around my grandmother, and both of them smiling and waving, waving, waving.

I could write a book on the two of them. The best advice I got from both of them was how to live a healthy lifestyle. To be physically healthy; Eat small healthy meals and exercise. To be spiritually healthy; Go to church and love and help others.

God bless Grandma Anne and Grandpa John. I still thank Him everyday for making me fortunate to have them as my grandparents, and for all the time He gave me with them.