34. Visit my grandparents on the farm in Nebraska

I just got back from such a wonderful time spent with my grandparents on their farm in Nebraska. As mentioned in my last post, I've tried a number of times to make it out there in the past couple years but for various reasons the trip kept getting postponed. But we finally made it work and I'm so glad. I originally put this goal on my 101 in 1001 list because I knew it would afford me some good quality time with my precious grandparents as well as a relaxing get-away. Well, since then life has dealt our family some difficult blows -- my grandpa had a heart attack, my grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and my aunt (their daughter) committed suicide. All of these things combined made me even more eager to spend some quality time with them. And that's just what we got for four solid days. Even then, it was heart-wrenching to say good-bye.

This farm was passed down to my grandparents from my grandma's parents who spent their lives working it. This wedding photo of them sits in the farmhouse:
My grandparents now rent out the land to other farmers and try to spend their summers there as a get-away from their lives in Florida. Look at how cute they were back in the day:
And here's a shot of them now. They've been married for 57 years.
They have two Australian Shepherds who decided pretty quickly that they liked me. This is Marley. She wouldn't let me sit down without pawing at me for attention.
And this is Mitzy:
We pretty much did a lot of nothing during my visit, which I absolutely loved. There was no internet so that freed me up from any pressure to blog. I was fed really well:
And went on three runs out on the dirt roads in 50/60 degree weather under some of the most beautiful skies:
My grandpa took me out on a four-wheeler in his pastures as well. We saw deer, cows and wild turkeys. We also just spent time talking about life. I got to hear some great stories as well as listen to my grandparents' hearts and how they are dealing with the loss of their daughter. It was precious time and I tried to take a mental snapshot of each moment.

Here's some other random shots I took around the farm using my new 24mm 1.4 lens which I LOVE!:
I feel so blessed.
Comments