My grandfather passed away this morning. He left peacefully as he was surrounded by my Grandmother and his children. He was diagnosed with COPD when I was in high school. Although he has been sick for quite some time, I was still absolutely shocked when my dad called this morning to tell me the awful news.
Over the past few months I have posted a few things about my grandparents but today I wanted to post something special just for my grandpa. I had started a letter for him that I planned to send so that he could read it before Christmas. These are a few of the memories that I wanted to share with him in that letter.
I love your homemade granola. I always looked forward to having a bowl in the morning; soaking it in ice cold milk and drenching it with Grandma's sweet strawberries. I've tried to make it before, it tasted awful in the end! You obviously have a special touch in making it perfectly sweet with that teensy hint of salt.
Everytime I came for the summer we'd make a strawberry pie. I don't know if it was your recipe or Grandma's, but you and I would make it together and so I've always thought of it as your strawberry pie recipe. I can remember almost burning the sugar mixture a hundred times, but you always seemed to catch me doing it in time. It was so hard waiting to eat that first slice because I knew what it was going to taste like...delicious! I made one this summer for Nathan...I burnt the first batch of sugar and had to start over! I sent you the pictures of it and as you saw it wasn't a very pretty looking pie, but it tasted good!
Everytime we'd go to Green Bay you'd try to take me to Chili John's with the boys. Everytime.
I spent more time playing downstairs with the kitchen that you made for me than any other toy I had. I could play house for hours in the basement cooking on my stove or putting the groceries away in the refrigerator. I can see the little silver handles on the white wood doors. I was always so excited to play house in the kitchen that you built for me.
Remember when I'd come to visit from Cincinnati? I'd fly Comair so we'd drive to the airport in Appleton. We usually made a road trip out of it by getting lunch before the flight. I think we even went out to lunch when I'd fly out of Green Bay.
I loved to play in the little house outside the old house. Remember when Andy was trying to take my bottle of Ting? He was laying on the roof of the little house trying to reach through the window to get my Ting while Gret and I were playing inside. He fell, knocked the wind out of himself and lost his lunch in the grass...the little sneak!
I used to love when you and Grandma would come to babysit us in Cincinnati. Do you remember when you met our neighbors and my best friend Kieran's grandpa, Dadu? We still talk about that first meeting. Do you remember when I helped the neighbor Dave paint the baby room and I didn't tell you or Grandma where I was going...I went missing for quite awhile that day, oops!
I loved our family slideshows. We'd all sit in the basement and watch at least one full reel of the photos that you'd taken of us all over the years. Sometimes we even got to help you put them together. I never did get the hang of putting the slide in upside down, or was it supposed to be backwards? I still can't remember!
I loved the photo sessions that you'd have us do. Your pictures always turned out so realistic and simple, yet absolutely beautiful. You captured us in our everyday lives. Do you remember when you first got Patsy and you took a whole roll of film with me holding her outside the house on Beechnut Court? We must have been taking pictures for an hour outside! Do you remember the pictures you took of Em and Gret and I in our matching denim and straw hats? I thought we were so cool and totally models! I still love those pictures.
I don't think I've ever met another Grandpa that has hair like you do. A full head of that perfect silvery-white hair.
You read faster than anyone I've ever met. You always sat in the same chair by the fireplace in our family room in Cincinnati and you would just read and read. You can finish a huge book in no time at all!
You always drive the speed limit. Late or early, it doesn't matter, you never speed.
Whenever I was driving home I would always call you and Grandma along the way or once I got there. You always reminded me to stop every two hours and take a break. That's after you'd tell me to drive carefully and not to speed.
I still have my wooden basket. That was so much fun to make! I remember being so excited to take mine home and put it in my room. It's blue with pink sponge painted on it.
Do you remember when I drove over from Luther late one night? I got a phone call from you when I was in Appleton and you let me have it! Something similar to "Where the heck are you?" which caused me to cry. When I got to the house you gave me a hug and told me how worried you were because you hadn't heard and you thought I was going to be there for dinner. We were both so shaken up...until Grandma brought out the yummy cake she'd cut up for us to eat. Amazing how the sweet treat calmed us right down! :)
Whenever I call the house you answer the same way. "Well, Hello Elizabeth!" No one says it the way that you do.
I will never forget our last brunch together this summer. I am so thankful that you were able to meet Nathan again. I'd never heard about your first job before but I am so glad that I got to hear about it from you. Grandpa Roy really knew how to help people get interesting jobs! Ha! Like you said, hopefully Nathan won't have to herd cattle the day after we get married. And hopefully our first breakfast as a married couple won't consist of just bacon! I know I will be thinking about you on our wedding day, wishing you were there.
Love you lots Grandpa.
