My grandfather was my idol growing up. He was completely opposite of my grandmother. He would always do things with his grandchildren where she kind of kept her distance. When I was growing up, they always lived pretty far from us. So when I got to see him, I really cherished it.
I remember when they lived in Appleton, WI. He knew that I loved raspberries. So he would always ask me if I would go and pick some from the bushes that they had. He knew that I would pick one and then eat three.
The next place they moved to was Naperville, IL. For Christmas one year, my cousin and I had to sleep on a mattress in my grandmother's closet. I remember think how huge this had to have been with a queen size mattress and still room to run around in. My dad's side of the family also loves White Castle. When it came time to decorate the Christmas tree, they used all the empty boxes that the hamburgers were in from White Castle.
The last place they moved to was Naples, FL. I did not get to visit them as much as I would have like to have but every time was very enjoyable. We would go to Disneyland, the beach, Jungle Joes, and many other places.
When I got married in 2003, I had my grandfather do a reading. It meant a lot to have him there and to do the reading. Instead of doing a honeymoon, my husband and I flew down to Florida to visit them.
On July 1, 2004, he passed away due to heart problems. After his funeral, all of my cousins and our significant others went miniature golfing. It was a tradition that he would always do with each of us. So we figured it was a great way to end the such a hard day. My aunt also took one of his shirts for each of us and had a teddy bear made out of it.
One of the hardest things was just over a year later, I had my first daughter and knowing that she would never get to met him was extremely hard. We always knew how much he loved each of us. Even though he is gone, he will never be forgotten.
I felt the same when I had my first child back in 2000, I was pregnant, and just lost my grandmother in March, and my father in July, but my first was not born until October. I found it very hard knowing that the first, along with my now three other children would never get to meet them. So, I talk about them often, share stories, and show them pictures. My grandmother, and father are gone, but will never ever be forgotten.
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