Making The Time To Make Memories,,,

Considering that I will be turning 40 this fall, it is kind of impressive to still be able to visit my grandfather whenever I get back to Quebec. This morning, we packed up all of the ingredients for lunch, car toys, books, knitting (I get car sick if I stitch in the car, but my stitching came along too!) and headed off to Montreal, about 2 hours away from Sherbrooke. We ran into heavy rain and big city traffic about half an hour out of the city, so we were almost 40 minutes later getting to his house than we’d planned.

Grampy still lives in the house that he and my grandmother bought more than half a century ago. It is the only house from my childhood that I still have any tangible link to, since Nick and I have now lived longer in our own house than in any place we spent time as children. At 93, Grampy is getting a bit frailer and a bit more absent minded each time I see him, but what a gift for both of my girls to have such detailed memories about their great-grandfather. He was the one to inspire 3 other generations of art loving people and we had a great time doing some sketches to leave behind for him.

The brief hours of the visit flew by, but they were filled with hugs, photos, laughter and memory making moments before the long drive back to Sherbrooke. Was it worth spending the 4 hours on the road to be there today? Of course! Each visit is made more precious by the knowledge that this pilgrimage will not last forever. I spent time as an artist today capturing some of my favourite spots or architectural elements around the house forever on film, and time as a granddaughter, with my arms draped around thinner shoulders, capturing the moments and memories forever in my heart.