Dear Grandpa

Dear Grandpa,

I miss you.

Tuesday, you said goodbye.

This Friday, my dad, your son, delivered your eulogy.  I wish I could've been there.  But he said something that I think would've made you smile:

"Dad has three children.  And in Wes, Karen, and Shelly we are blessed with wonderful marriages,  Our children love one another and are so faithful to each other.  We have exactly what Dad wanted for us.  Dad was a fighter.  I don't know how he got us here.  But here we are.  Our families are built on what he gave us.  Even if he wasn't sure how to give it."

"Dad was a fighter."  That sums up alot of it.  Grandpa, you were the soldier that our family needed.  Two years ago, you had one of the closest brushes with death one could have, but you told him no.  I remember seeing you in the hospital, and then afterward.  I could not believe the change.  After being out of the hospital for only just two days, you looked completely different.  You never belonged in the hospital.

I'll never forget your enthusiasm.  Whether it was threatening to wrestle me, or asking me why I didn't have a girlfriend, or telling me that I would never beat you in one-on-one; whatever it was, I knew that you always had my back.

I remember the summer before my senior year, when I went back with you to your old house to mow and do some yard work.  I was working in the front and you were in the back.  After finishing up, I walked around the house, and then. . . my heart stopped.  I saw you laying completely spread eagle on the ground.  When I ran up to you and asked urgently if you were okay, you only smiled and looked up  at me through your bushy eyebrows as if I were crazy.   "I'm only resting."  You told me.  Then you asked if I had finished the front yard.

I was always slacking.

I remember as a first grader, when I played basketball, that you were always the loudest in the stands.  When coaches reminded me not to listen to the coaches in the stands, they couldn't possibly mean you.  Or Dad for that matter.

Grandpa, I'll miss you.

Your big grin.

Your bear hugs.

It won't be the same.  It's going to be tough, but I trust the Lord has a plan.

Rest in peace, Grandpa.