Pardon the Dust!

Cough, cough! Wheeze! I've convinced myself to blow the dust off the blog and start out afresh. I can come up with plenty of excuses for why I was off line, but I'm already bored with my own excuses, so I'll skip those.

My Grandpa, 1942

You may remember back in February my grandmother died after a long time of just slowly diminishing. My grandfather felt so very lonely, no matter how much we tried to keep him occupied. They were married for 74 years. Last June, the day before Grandpa's birthday, he took a bad fall and passed away on his 95th birthday.

My grandpa was many things. Such a long life creates many opportunities. He was a man of simple faith who lived his beliefs, a man who enjoyed hard work and job well done, who seemed to like everybody, and was in turn well liked by everybody. I never heard him curse, never heard him yell, gossip, or wish anyone ill. He liked a good practical joke, and was a terrific story teller. He believed in taking care of small problems before they became big problems, and treating everyone fairly and with kindness. He grew up on a farm, during the depression. He didn't worry too much about what he didn't have, he was too busy enjoying what he did have. And if he thought something in his life needed improving, well he went to work on fixing it.

I am so blessed that he was my grandpa. So much of him is woven through who I am. The very best parts of who I am. I am so lucky that he lived as long as he did, that I could spend so much time with him. I wish everyone I know could have met him, and has someone like him in their life. I wish there were more people like him.

My grandparents and my mother