Sometimes the gift of time is more than just a sentimental slogan.
We took my 92-year-old father-in-law on a little trip last weekend, which we told him was his Christmas present. He hadn’t been to the Crystal
Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, and he’s wanted to go. I had been two times and loved it; my husband had been once.
We were excited about going again and showing him the amazing place. (Everyone in Arkansas should go.) My father-in-law threw the idea of a Razorback basketball game into the mix. He hadn’t been to one in 30 years, and my husband and I — graduates of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro — never had. Never planned to, actually.
But I looked online and found a weekend with an afternoon game and called for tickets. The nice ticket guy (whom I discovered is an ASU grad, too) found seats for us that didn’t require a lot of steps. My father-in-law is amazing and still plays golf a couple of times a week, but his knees are a little rusty.
We made it to Fayetteville two hours before the game; we got in the arena 1 1/2 hours before the game after a nice shuttle-bus ride (with a friendly driver whose grown kids went to the University of Central Arkansas; I tend to strike up conversations with everyone).
As my husband and father-in-law looked in the trophy cases, the Hog mascot, dressed in a Santa suit, walked around a corner. My father-in-law said, “I see you on TV.”
We took photos and then went to our seats, along with the other 20 people who were there that early. The Jumbotron was on the fritz, and it was lowered to the floor to be fixed.
The game was exciting, back and forth, but the Razorbacks won. (I have a video of my father-in-law calling the Hogs and a photo of my husband sneakily making the Wolves Up sign at the same time.)
We left in the cold, windy night (thank Hog Heaven for shuttle buses) and headed to look at the lights in downtown Fayetteville. Because of the long line of cars, it seemed to take forever, but we finally made our way around to look at the lights, camels and action. I hopped out to take pictures, because I always want to document my trips. My desire for pictures drove my father-in-law a little crazy, I think, but he indulged me.
When we got to the hotel, we enjoyed a little visit in my father-in-law’s room, while he and my husband considered Arkansas football coach Bielema’s fate (I had no opinion on this topic). I do remember my mother-in-law’s name coming up.
“I think about her every day,” my father-in-law said. My husband and I said we do, too. She died on Christmas Day 10 years ago.
After a late dinner at the slightly froufrou but good hotel restaurant, my father-in-law went to bed, and my husband and I walked to the Bentonville Square to look at the beautiful lights and take more photos.
The next morning at breakfast, I asked my father-in-law what was the best trip he and my late mother-in-law ever took; they turned into quite the world travelers after the kids were grown.
He talked about Italy and Africa and Russia.
The highlight of the weekend was Crystal Bridges. My father-in-law used a wheelchair to save his knees, and we looked at beautiful, amazing, crazy, weird and wonderful paintings and sculptures. Some of the paintings brought memories for my father-in-law, like one that depicted a terrible flood along the Mississippi River in 1927 — his brother helped refugees for a couple of weeks. The one depicting Hiroshima brought a memory of his traveling there and how emotional it was for him to see a big mound of debris that included human remains.
Sometimes my father-in-law would look at a painting and say, “Well, they just see something I don’t see.”
We also toured the Frank Lloyd Wright house on the museum grounds. When an employee mentioned the light rain we had to go out in, my father-in-law said something like, “We’re Methodists — we’re used to getting sprinkled.”
Back in Conway, my father-in-law spent the night with us. He told me my last picture of the weekend should be my husband and him with their feet up, watching a football game, and it was. I plan to make a little album of all the pictures, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget the weekend.
We told my father-in-law it was his present, but spending time together was really a gift for all of us.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.