Bittersweet

When you don't see someone for several years at a time, it's hard for you to think of them as any different from how they were the last time you were together. When we walked into Jeremy's grandparents' home and saw Grandpa sitting in his chair, it was a huge shock. We expected to see sly, energetic, fun-loving Grandpa and instead saw someone who was trying to be that, but was more dejected and frustrated. Grandpa had hip-replacement surgery (I think for the third time) about six months ago. He's not recovering as fast as he wants. He's always been up doing something and being confined to a chair or bed is not easy for someone like that. He zips around in his chair and runs over everyone's toes, but he also just sits and hangs his head like he's giving up. This is especially hard on Jeremy. Jeremy is a lot like his dad and that side of the family. A LOT. Seeing his role model in that state . . . it's hard. Here's the part that's hard for me, though. Jeremy has to work through things alone before he can let me in on the process. I'm one of these people who just sit down and talk through everything so that I can come to grips with whatever I'm dealing with. He's the opposite. He has to come to grips with it first. Do you see the problem? I feel left out as he deals with his grandfather's condition. And it's breaking my heart. I can't fix it and I'm a fixer, for sure. I hate it when things are out of my control (yes -- I know that everything is really out of my control and that my life would go a lot smoother if I'd give it to God and let Him be in control, but I'm still working on actually putting that into practice). Anyway, I guess this is my way of talking it through until I can talk it through with him. Please pray for Jeremy and his family as we watch our loved ones continue to grow old.