My grandparents just turned 50.

That's jointly, not individually. Meaning their 50th wedding anniversary.

We headed up to my parents house for their big celebration weekend before last (yeah, i'm slow blogging it up - sue me). Wanted to head up Friday night, but I had a freelance job that I needeed to wrap up before I left, and by the time I did... I just didn't feel like starting off on a 3 hour drive at quarter to nine pm.


Even though the party didn't start until 2:00, it was important to me that we get their early and help out. My mother was stuck doing the bulk of the work, dispite having three siblings. Some of this is because the party was at her house, and she lives closest to their parents so she ends up shouldering these types of things just out of proximity. Part of it is because some of her siblings prioritize things differently that do we (work-trumps-all, a behavior handed down from grandpa's obsessive genepool and by his example of the 50's macho work ethic- which I think was instilled largely by his parents having grown up during the depression, but this could be a whole other blog).

The party was a huge success. I'm sure at least 80 people showed up. It was great seeing many relatives (and, well, not so great seeing some others, but I suppose that is the way with extended family).

I'm told that Grandpa was doing better than he has recently, which is a bit sad. He has been battling brain cancer, and it is becoming apparent that, dispite his initial string recovery, he's not winning the battle. He barely had the strength to walk into the house, and often times seemed unaware of what was going on around him (which I suppose, really, isn't all that unlike him) and who was talking to him (rarely did he have the strength to put more than two words together in response). The whole event was just too overwhelming for him.

Also exiting and new for the day - uncle Keith (one of the offspring of the couple of honor referred to above) with his new wife. This is a story in itself, which someday I may come back to. For now, I will sum up and let your imaginations wander with this: Nearly no one was told about the wedding beforehand (by Keith). No one knew that, in the past year, he traveled to the Phillipeans to meet his new wife four times. His new wife, Shirley, is younger than his youngest son, Keith, 48, has about 30 years on her. And she speaks english...more or less. There was a much more dramatic way of presenting this information, but I'm tired of typing this and sharing this particular anticdote.

Anyway, after the party was over, we lit up a bonfire and had a bit too much to drink with mom and rex, their neighbors, and Aunt Cindy and Uncle Jeff (who traveled all the way from Korea to be here - OK, partially to start house hunting and what-not. Their moving back timeline has accellerated; Cindy is now in the country for good, Jeff will be wrapping things up over the next couple months).

And there's almost as much news about last weekend...which will probably make its way on here either wihtin the next hour, or a week from now.