Grandpa.

As a lot of you know (all two of you who read this blog), my grandpa passed away a few weeks ago. Even though we lived thousands of miles apart for most of my life, he played a major role in my life. You see, I lived thousands of miles away from ALL of my relatives. I never knew what it was like to spend the weekend at my grandparent's house or the joys of an extended family birthday party complete with aunts & uncles and cousins galore. Sure, I have a plethora of relatives, but they were never close enough geographically to share milestones with in person.

But I digress. My grandparents on my father's side were the only ones who would venture out on car trips from Colorado or Arizona or California to visit us up in Washington every once in a while to spend a week with us. I have fond memories of my grandparents falling asleep with their shoes kicked off on the sofas in our living room whilst completing their daily crossword puzzles. My grandma died on October 31, 1997 after a battle with ovarian cancer. My grandpa lived a full life (a month away from 91 is nothing to scoff at) until he suffered a random blackout resulting in a fall outside the grocery store. He spent a few days in the hospital until he passed away on October 19, 2009. His memorial service was scheduled for October 30. Odd coincidence, no? After my parents returned from the memorial in Colorado, my father told me that he saw a picture of my grandmother framed beside a poem. When he glanced over at my grandpa's organ, he saw a song by the same name open, ready to play. Even though it had been 12 years since my grandmother passed, he was still honoring her every day. That's love.

There are a lot of things that I remember about my grandpa. I remember running my hands back and forth over his crew cut as a toddler and calling it a brush haircut. I also remember him showing me how to use a hammer which I then proceeded to try and utilize on said brush haircut when his back was turned. Thank God for my mom who was in eagle-eye mode and shouted "NO!!!!" at the last moment. Every time he saw me, at age 2 or 20, he would crinkle his eyes and laugh his famous Grandpa laugh. I'll really miss that laugh.

He never forgot a birthday and sent a handmade card printed off his computer every year to each and every one of us. My dad told me that when he was growing up my grandpa went to all of his high school football games. Not because he was on the team (my dad is kind of a computer geek!), but because my dad was the team manager on the sidelines and was in the half-time marching band. He was so supportive and gentle and kind and even though I am sad to not have had the chance to know him as well as I wish I had... I cherish each and every memory. And I hope that his spirit will shine through me.