bloody illness........

i tell ya, being sick sucks incredibly bad, especially when you have better things to do. case in point, my grandpa's 80th birthday party was on saturday at the Elk's Club. it was a pretty neat little affair, though i probably only knew about 23% of the people there; so many old people. it was great to see how happy my grandpa was to see everyone and it was awesome to see my uncle and three cousins, whom i haven't seen in years. it would have been a lot better, however, if i hadn't been in a cold-induced fog......so annoying. there was a really sad point though. for those who don't know, which may be quite a few of you, my grandpa has had Parkinson's for a few years now and his condition has deteriorated quite a bit over the past few years. he shakes quite a bit, has trouble walking (he stands there for a second, seemingly remembering how to walk, then when he gets going its slow), and rarely is able to talk above a mumbled whisper, so its hard to communicate with him. anyway, with that said, his sister from Arizona, who hadn't seen him in a number of years, was able to make it to the party....which was awesome. here is the sad part though: when she came into the place and saw him there sitting in the chair, shaking and slightly mumbling, she began to cry; it was such a stark contrast from the last time she saw him. this really made me realize how much worse his condition has actually gotten, we don't really see the evolution of things when we are in the middle of them. it really made me miss how things used to be with him. he was such a strong, able-bodied man his whole life, even eduring a full year in the Dutch underground running from the Nazis. man, time and age are a cruel master. anyway, i miss how things were and i guess i just need to enjoy the rest of the time God has for him on this earth; how ever long.