There's a bird in your mailbox

Some people might write about their grandparents on mother's day, father's day or even grandparent's day. Not me, I prefer April fools day. :)



Ever since I could remember, I've called my grandma on April 1 to tell her there was a bird in her mailbox. When I was little, from what I hear, she'd actually play along and go check the mailbox while I giggled. Now - & perhaps this is because I've been doing it 25 years - she's doesn't have to check. ;) But I still call to tell her about the bird, every April 1, mostly to hear her laugh.

My grandparents are super cool. I can remember how excited I'd be to go to their house, as a little kid. It was always special.

Grandma was once in a biker gang and tells us stories of prison....oh, wait...that may not be true.... What is true is she takes merciless teasing and laughs right along with us. And she's passed on her sayings, looks and mannerisms to my mom, aunts, me, my sisters and cousins. We're kind of gramma-clones. And it's not a bad thing! :) When I was little, she and mom would take me shopping all over town. And she'd take me to their office and let me photocopy my hands. This is an activity I still enjoy to this day. A few years ago, I needed to illustrate a hands-on treatment called OMM, for a poster. So I photocopied my hands.

My grandpa is a brilliant engineer that understands things I can't even begin to comprehend. Plus, I will never forget the multiplication table for 9s, thanks to him. He always puts up with the silly technical questions I call and expect him to fix over the phone. My grandpa is like a computer genius and he's probably why I like to dink around on the computer, even tho I've now jumped ship to the Mac. He also instilled in me a love of flannel shirts.

Really, truly, they are cool. Super smart and super sweet. They raised four awesome kids and have a whole mess of grandkids that love them. I'm pretty sure they should live closer to me, like say in Ankeny, *hint hint* but I understand why they love their home in beautiful Utah.