My granddad passed away this morning. It's hard to lose a grandparent, even when you feel like you didn't know them that well.
Of course, I did stop and visit my grandparents as I was traveling from Georgia to California. That was only two weeks ago. So there is a small comfort in that. And I got to spend a few weeks with him and my grandmother almost 10 years ago when all three of us serendipitously ended up in Germany at the same time.
Before my visit two weeks ago, though, it's been years since I last saw my granddad. He and grandma went to Utah for several visits, and I actually made it to one or two of those visits. But I still never knew what to really talk about. Even for those two weeks in Germany. Don't get me wrong; granddad is an extraordinary man. He rose from shop sweeper to airline pilot to retirement all with the same company.
So -- that picture at the top of this post is pretty much the only picture I have ever personally taken of my granddad. His holding Adara, who was a little less than one month old in this picture.
5 comments:
Sorry to hear that. How old was he? I hope he went peacefully, without suffering.
My grandparents were all gone before I reached adulthood, but, as you know, my parents are getting up there.....
Love the smile! Someone once asked Granddad why he didn't have any wrinkles, and he said it was because he never smiled and he never frowned.
I remember lots of smiles, though, especially in the more recent years.
Granddaddy was 83 or 84. He died within 24 hours (I believe) of being admitted to the hospital. As far as we can tell, it seemed to be not too much physical suffering.
As far as smiling -- he always seemed to be fairly even keel with regards to moods. Even the smiling and laughing were low key, for the most part.
On a completely different note, I have presented you with an award over on my blog.
That's a really precious picture. If there's only one that you could get, this one is tops.
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