Grandpa Dennis

Grandpa Dennis

My husband, Dennis, works himself to exhaustion every week.  Driving a semi hauling butane and anhydrous ammonia is an exhausting and stressful job.  It takes serious concentration to avoid running over people in cars, on motorcycles and pedestrians, not to mention deer, cattle, and other assorted animals on the road for long hours every day.  Eighty-thousand pounds of cargo thrust puts a lot of pressure on the driver to constantly be able to think ahead, anticipate, and react instantly to any hazards that may arise.

Therefore, when Dennis comes home, he has to get plenty of rest.  He is usually home for thirty-four hours every week.  Each weekend, he had plans of all the things he wants to get done, around the house, with me and the family, especially his “grandbabies”.  Even though none of them are still babies, he still thinks of them that way.  He is very protective of them, and enjoys doing little projects in the yard with each of them.

He loves to raise flowers and trees.  At one time, we had over 125 rose bushes in our Clifton yard.  Many of those have died since he’s began trucking longer distances.  But the ones that remain are still brilliantly gorgeous every summer.  He loves grooming his hardwood trees and is always watching for new varieties.

He is especially proud of his magnolia trees.  Clifton and Clyde are north of the area where magnolias usually thrive, so it has been a constant struggle to keep them alive during the harsh winters in Kansas.  We have been lucky the past couple of years, however, and his trees at this time are blooming beautifully.

Lilies, tulips, daffodils, and many other varieties of flowers abound in our Clifton yard.  We are making plans for flowers in Clyde, but so far, we have a few tulips and some roses growing.  He has also planted some trees in our yard. 

Another hobby of Dennis’ is bird and squirrel watching.  We have bird feeders and squirrel feeders located strategically around the yard for optimal viewing pleasure.  Some day, we would love to purchase the lot to the south of our house and plant trees and flowers there.

Unfortunately, the project that takes up most of his time when he is home is viewing the backs of his eyelids.  He comes in so exhausted that resting on the loveseat in our living room and watching a little television seems to take most of his energy.  Part of that is from getting older.  We are slowing down.  We are becoming a burden to our children.  They worry about our health. 

Retirement will probably be only a fantasy for us.  We will have to work until the day we are totally unable to function and either die or end up in a nursing home.  That day seems to be rushing at us very quickly these days.  We’ve had so many dreams crash and burn over the past 40+ years.  But we remain happy and content in our tiny little cottage. 

Being a grandparent is one of the largest joys of our lives.  We love watching the children play in sports at school, even though we don’t always get to attend.  But you’ll never catch us without a recent photo of each of the kids.  We are very proud of our children, and of our grandchildren.

The photo below was taken October 9, 1999 at our daughter, Becky's wedding.

The Lord has blessed us greatly.