Grandpa's birthday was approaching fast and I knew we had to put together a celebration for him. You just never know how much longer he is going to be able to stick around. He's had a rough few years and we wanted to make his day special. I called up Dad and asked if he could ask Grandpa (he has been going over there three times a day to make sure he eats well and makes it to his appointments, etc.) if he wanted to have a birthday party this year. I told him that we could do it outside in his front yard so he didn't have to walk very far and we can bring KFC or something so we wouldn't have to make a giant mess. Dad said he would ask.
Dad got back to me later on and said that Grandpa would love a birthday party in his front yard. He said he didn't matter what we ate as long as everyone came. This would be the first extended family gathering since Covid started but since it was going to be outside, we would be able to social distance easily. I emailed everyone to let them know what we were doing and everyone got back to me stating that it was a great idea. I started to plan out the next few days.
On Friday, I logged off of my work laptop and gathered up the recycle to head into Rainier. I dumped off the recycle first and then headed to Mom and Dad's to get Mom motivated to go with me to mow Grandpa's lawn. She drove the truck and I drove the Escape over since it had all the folding tables in it. We picked up the poop first and then we both mowed the lawn. She was on the push lawn mower while I was on the riding lawn mower. We got it done pretty fast between the two of us.
We went to the back yard and found some of the tables we used to use during our parties several years ago and started washing and rinsing the outdoor debris off of them. We walked them around to the front yard to stage and let them dry for the party. I took my tables out from the back of the Escape, some of the chairs and set them out. We grabbed one more table and a few chairs out of the motor home and wiped them down. Mom left to go get dinner for Dad and Grandpa. When she came back, we fed the cats, dogs and walked Roscoe down the road.
All I needed to do was decorate and social distance the tables. Mom and Grandma would bring the KFC from Yelm.
I woke up the next day, picked up Erika and headed to Mom and Dad's house so we could go to Katie's baby shower at Gastropub in Yelm. It was a drive by baby shower. We hopped into Mom's Expedition and drove out to Yelm. We sat for a while and waited our turn. We chatted with Katie and Amy for a bit, handed them the baby gifts we brought and then Amy brought out the food. We didn't expect to see that much food when she handed us the to go containers. The food was pretty good too. We headed back home and gave Dad some of the leftovers so he could have some and he could take some to Grandpa for lunch.
I took Erika back to her apartment and I headed to the Dollar Store to pick up a few things and then I drove out to Tumwater to visit Grammie for a little bit and then headed over to Grandpa's house around 3ish.
Dad met me over there and helped me decorate tables and set up the decorations. I put out a garbage can, brought paper plates, silverware and cups just so we didn't have to create waste or make a mess in the kitchen. Everyone started to trickle in around 5ish and Mom and Grandma showed up with the food.
We set it all up and then had everyone come and dish up. Dad grabbed Grandpa and sat him down at a table and made a plate for him. You could tell Grandpa was having a great time. He absolutely enjoyed having everyone over visiting and sharing a meal with him on his birthday. He stayed out there for a while chatting with everyone but had to go back in the house and sit in his chair because the chairs outside didn't support his back and hips very well. Before he went into the house, he thanked us for the wonderful birthday party and for coming over.
We cleaned up everything off the tables and sent some of the leftovers home with Doug and Jenn and Mom took some home for her and Dad. I was sad there wasn't enough for Ben and I to take some home but it was okay, we would live. Everyone who came over thanked me for putting together a birthday party for Grandpa and everyone headed home for the evening. It was super dry outside but nothing was on fire...yet.
I sure hope Grandpa starts to feel better so he can come to family gatherings again. He hasn't come to anything since last Christmas but Covid has kinda altered the way we celebrate holidays this year. It was important that we celebrate Grandpa this weekend.
Happy 85th birthday Grandpa!
Next Adventure: A Very Hot Bike Ride to Yelm and Back
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