The End of an Era...........

I am so glad I went tonight.  Grady vs. Anton, boys playoff basketball.  Grady lost.  It was emotional, the boys had a good season, and had a state runner-up title to defend.  But what made me break down and cry on the way home – and I mean a good, boo-hoo, sobbing cry – was not sympathy for the boys or the draining disappointment of defeat, but the thought of my grandparents driving home, for the very last time, from a grandkid’s game.

My family is incredible.  All of them.   I love my parents,  my sis, my aunts, uncles, & cousins.  But the root of it all, the steadfast anchor that has kept us all filled with gratitude & enthusiasm, and especially love, is Gramma & Pop.

I’m the oldest grandchild of seven on the Yates side.  Since I set foot in the arena at five showing my horse, they’ve not missed anything.  I showed horses, then steers, then got involved in school with sports.  Samantha & my cousins were the same way.  We did it all.  Steer barn, pig barn, basketball court, tennis court.  From one end of the state to the other, January through December.  Know who saw everything?  Gramma & Pop.  I do not know of a single event they missed.

I’m sure they could have built two new houses or owned a small country with the gas money they’ve spent chasing us around.  Throw in the concession stand donations and gate fees and you could add a leer jet. 

Bryley played his last game as a Grady Wildcat tonight.  We were all Wildcats…will always be Wildcats.  Gramma & Pop have bought every t-shirt and owned every pin and sticker and whatever other Booster Club spirit item has come around.  Tonight, they drove home from their last grandkid’s game.   Bryley is a senior, he had a great run.  Gramma & Pop, you had a great run.

18 years of it.  Eighteen solid years of watching, cheering, euphoria and heartache.  Always there when we got out of the locker room or show ring, to give us a hug and tell us they love us, no matter what had just happened.  And tonight, they hugged Bryley, told him they were proud of him, and walked out of the gym for the last time, as grandparents of a Wildcat.

Ryder is 3.  He’ll be busy with stuff before long.  And I know they’ll be there to watch every minute of it for as long as they can.  They’ll be his biggest fan as they were ours. 

Well, I’m crying again.  It’s a good cry, an appreciative one.  I wish everyone had a Gramma & Pop, I’m so lucky I do.