We finally made it back to Indiana. After spending the past year trying to get your Popa Roger to visit—and canceling his flights multiple times due to ongoing health issues—we decided to make the trip ourselves using buddy passes from Grandma Vicki and Aunt Courtney. We can’t blame Popa; he’s been dealing with eye, neck, leg… pretty much everything issues. It’s a lot easier for our younger, able bodies to travel anyway.
A highlight of the trip was visiting your cousins Abby and Mason at Ball State on our way to Fort Wayne. There’s nothing quite like a college house anywhere in America—used furniture, sparse but meaningful décor, and bohemian vibes. Abby’s place checked all those boxes, and it made me nostalgic for that phase of life and truly happy that Abby and Mason get to experience it. I also admire how close they are as adult siblings—and hope you and Eliza are taking note.
We hadn’t been back to Fort Wayne since Grammie’s funeral, and a lot changes every time we visit. The areas outside of Leo, especially DuPont, are growing fast with new homes and businesses popping up everywhere. Your mom always finds a beautiful house for sale on a road she loves—at a ridiculously low price, thanks to the cost of living there.
What’s really changed, though, is Popa’s lifestyle. He bought a great newer home in a 55+ community and is selling the family home your mom grew up in. That’s a big deal—it’s been in the family since the early 1980s. The house itself isn’t in great shape, to be honest. Popa had a crew working on the foundation and fumigating (getting rid of pests). The main reason for our trip was to help him clean out the house and make sure your mom could keep the belongings that meant the most to her.
This was also the first trip where we had to stay at a hotel, since work was being done on the family home. We stayed at a SpringHill Suites that gave us plenty of space and a good place to crash between long days of sorting through closets, boxes, photos, and documents. You, meanwhile, enjoyed all the screen time in the world.
We spent time with Popa’s friend Patty, who your mom knew growing up through her daughter. Patty has been incredibly kind, helping keep an eye on Popa and managing his health issues in recent months. We also made it to a few parks and visited friends. You really hit it off with Creed when we saw the Reynolds family, who we have such a special bond with—especially because of how close your mom is with Daisha. Distance can’t come between true friendships; it just makes you appreciate the time you get together. I know your mom really misses Daisha.
This trip was emotional for us. Going through decades of memories reminded us how much love filled that home and how much Grammie cared for all of us. She was an impressive archivist and a prolific photographer. She had backup CDs of print photos and boxes labeled by person, place, or event. There are also plenty of genealogy records we didn’t have time to go through—but I’m glad we have that family history preserved. By the time we left, your mom and I felt good about what we kept and what we let go of. We brought home a box of photos and a few small keepsakes.
Getting home took longer than planned. After sitting at the gate for a few hours, Alaska Airlines canceled our flight due to IT issues, and we spent an extra night at an airport hotel. I don’t think I’ve ever spent a full week in Indiana—even when your mom and I got married there. We made the most of it, though, adding a visit to the Indianapolis Zoo on a beautiful October day while it poured rain back home. Instead of a canceled flight, it felt like we were given a bonus day—maybe a little gift from Grammie.
Love,
Dad