Despite how well she's doing with the transition, after her fall I decided that it was finally time for me to head to Connecticut to see Grandma, and to spend time with my Aunt Pat, my father's only sibling still living in the area, and her husband. It had been over 15 years since I had intentionally traveled to Connecticut for more than a couple of hours to see my father's family there, so a trip there was long overdue.
While I was looking forward to seeing them all I needed a plan for my time with Grandma. She's an incredible lady - strong willed, funny, and still has all her faculties about her. But that said, the hours with Grandma can get a little long, and she has a tendency to slide into some conversations that we've had too many times to count over the years. No way could I spend two days in a nursing home with her without something to do. So after speaking to my Aunt Pat, I developed a plan to go through some of Grandma's boxes of old pictures that had been moved out of her house when she sold it. Even better, I decided to bring our scanner so that I could scan the pictures in and take them home with me that way, and make copies for my siblings. I've wanted to get some history on our family for a long time, and this was a great chance to see pictures and to have Grandma tell me some stories.
I didn't think much of packing my scanner for my trip until it came time to actually put it in a bag. The thing is HUGE, because - of course - it is also our printer. I had planned to pop it in my carry-on bag with my clothes, but was shocked to discover that it filled my carry on bag in it's entirety! With the suitcase open on the floor and the printer/scanner practically spilling out of it, my patient husband turned to me and said "is it really necessary to bring this?"
I wish I could tell you that I calmly responded to his query, but what happened next was a mild emotional breakdown on my behalf while I lamented about needing a plan for all that time with Grandma, and how important it was to scan the pictures in, and you just don't understand what it's like... and so on. Feeling weak and confused, I sauntered into the living room and turned on my computer, quickly bringing myself to Walmart.com to look at scanners.
Turns out Walmart has really small scanners that can be purchased for about a hundred dollars. Scanners that would easily fit into my carry-on bag and save me all kinds of trouble. I started scheming to run to Walmart, buy a scanner, and then leave it with one of my family members in Connecticut - like somehow that wouldn't be an infringement of the Stuff Stand-off. I was so close to jumping in the car and heading to the store, but in a moment of clarity I came to my senses. Or maybe Jonathan helped me come to my senses. Whatever it was, I went back to my suitcase and neatly packed a towel around my scanner, filling another bag with my clothes in it to check onto the plane.
In my previous life, I wouldn't have hestitated to go out and buy that scanner even though I had a perfectly good one that I could bring with me. Even though I really didn't have to bring a scanner to Connecticut in the first place. My stubborn desire to see my agenda through would have been more than enough motivation for me to make a (kinda big) purchase like that. I can't believe, in retrospect, how easy it was to convince myself that the money spent on a second scanner just for airplane travel would be worth it. And on top of all that, I thought it would be okay to cheat on the Stand-off that way!
I was glad to have the scanner in Connecticut in the end, even though I did feel like a complete moron pulling the thing out while I was going through security. My grandmother enjoyed going through the pictures with me, and I heard a lot of great stories. The thing I hate to admit is that my aunt and uncle actually sent the pictures home with me when it was all over, so the truth is I could have just scanned everything in at home. But let's be serious - who's got that kind of time? I can hardly find time to blog about the experience much less scan all the pictures in!
So I guess this kind of thing is what this Stand-off is all about - lugging your big old scanner/printer around the airport, through security, into the rental car, and towards your grandmother. Now that it's over, and my scanner and I are home, it doesn't seem like it was all that bad. And I'm not out a hundred dollars and the new owner of a small scanner that I wouldn't really ever use. And I have great pictures to show my friends and family. Still, I thought when I was finally tempted to cheat on the Stand-off it would be for something I really needed or wanted. But another scanner?! Come on now...
Grandma and Grandpa on their honeymoon, 1943.
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