Meeting Great Grandpa

My mom had knee replacement surgery on June 19th. Since June 18th I've made 3 trips to Gulf Shores, AL to be with my mom during the surgery and her recovery. Two of those trips I brought Emily along with me. On our last trip to my mom's we made a detour through Brewton, AL to see my grandfather, Emily's great-grandfather. This is my mom's step father but the only grandfather I've ever known. He is 82 years old and loved seeing Emily. It has been a year or so since I've seen him so he couldn't believe how big Emily has gotten. Emily wasn't too sure about him and didn't really want to have anything to do with him, until he told her he had Oreo cookies in the kitchen, then she was okay with him. We had a nice visit for about an hour and half. I love my Papa and I'm so glad that Emily has been able to meet him. She was very cranky that day and didn't want her picture taken. This was a battle to get her to take this one picture, she was made because I put her on the counter, that's a 4 year old minus a nap for you! Anyway, I'm so fortunate Papa is still around. My grandmother died in 1989, 13 days after her 61st birthday. I remember spending many summers at their house and working in the garden and going to Jay, FL for groceries. My Papa was diagnosed several years ago with prostate cancer but the doctor's said they didn't want to do anything because of his age. I could tell this past visit he is starting to fail in health. He was having a hard time remembering Emily's name and at times my name. He's lost 20 pounds without even trying. I'm going to make every effort to be able to go visit him more. I hate that I haven't visited him more in the past than I have.