Great! Grandparents

I started to write about the inverse proportion of excitement to nervousness as you ascend the rungs of a family tree - and probably will finish that thought at one point - but decided that I'd rather write about Paul & Minnie. That's my grandfather and grandmother. That's my baby's great-grandfather and great-grandmother. My child will be Paul & Minnie's ninth great-grandchild. That's a starting line up.

Paul and Minnie are on my mind for a few reasons: My Lovely Wife and I are visiting them this weekend in (where else?) southern Florida; Paul turns 96 next month; Their bodies might betray them, but their minds are still sharp.

My grandparents fascinate me. Born at the dawn of the last century, Paul and Minnie retreated from New York City to upstate New York to live and work, raising my mother and her siblings until they retired. In 1972. And since then they have ridden the retiree's roller coaster, from ocean-front high rise to full-service assisted living. And they still (when not recovering from broken hips) manage to walk to the dining room every night.

I am in constant awe of my grandparents' lives and ages. All that they have done and all that they have seen, I cannot even begin to fathom. It is difficult for me to comprehend a world they may have lived in, with little or no electricity, or a family radio, or even the advent of TV dinners. The best perspective I have on just how old my grandparents are comes from my last overnight stay with them.

We spent most of our time that evening watching coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics. During the telecast, an announcer mentioned that the first modern Winter Olympics were held in 1924: My grandparents are older than the Winter Olympics! Also during the telecast, Cadillac ran a commercial featuring Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll." That song was first released in 1971. My grandparents have been retired since Led Zeppelin's heyday! That is freaking old.

There is a realistic shot my grandparents are only 5-6 years away from being great-great-grandparents if my cousin stays on this side of cute.

The payoff of being a great-grandparent must be bittersweet. When my grandparents were born, I'm guessing there weren't too many great-grandparents around to welcome them into the world. At the same time, they are shells of the people I knew growing up; the couple that would drive me to the beach, or swim with me or teach me shuffleboard. Their children have taken over as the young, fun retirees and ferry their grandkids from the beach to the pool.

Paul and Minnie are lucky enough to be able to sit and watch, but that is all they are able to do.

By genetic chance, Paul and Minnie's surname has died. Their son had daughters; their daughters had sons. But Paul and Minnie continue on. The couple that is older than the Winter Olympics, thought Zeppelin was too loud the first time around, and has been retired since the Nixon administration have outlived even their last name.