Papa Ski

This is a tough week. It's the one I dread more than any other week of the year.

Flash back to 5 years ago, and my family was going through some rough stuff. 5 years ago today my grandpa died. 5 years and a week ago his wife, my grandma, died. Snap back to current times, and it still hurts. A lot.

I dread this week because I know that I'll have flashbacks running through my mind of the specifics of everything. Sometimes the most random things bring back the most random details from that time in the hospital. I know that it'll hurt all over again to remember. But you know what? This year's different. Today I've let myself dwell on the memories of my grandpa as an individual, as a very influential person in my life, and trying to find areas of my life where I can see how he shaped me. Sure, there have been some tears, but it's been far less heart-wrenching and far more enlightening than remembering exactly how that last bit of time went. It's put smiles on my face and made my heart lighter. It's also heightened my appreciation for him as more than a grandpa because hey, he was a pretty amazing man.


This man was caring. His love for each and every one of us was obvious even if he didn't say it -- you could just see it in his insanely blue eyes. He was a fighter to no end. He fought cancer for the last little bit of his life, but he didn't let that stop him from hanging out with our family or going to the nursing home every single day to stay by my grandma's side. He was devoted to his wife totally, utterly, and completely. I've never seen anyone before or since who was so in love with someone. This was a man who was full of hope and optimism, even when the rest of us weren't so sure. This was a man who always had a smile or a joke, and he had the best laugh for when he was joking...a deep "heh heh heh" that I can still hear in my head as clearly as I heard it while we would be sitting and talking at Auntie Cindy's house not so long ago. This was a man I'm truly lucky to be able to call my grandpa.

That example he gave us is a lot to live up to. I hope whole-heartedly that I'm becoming the kind of girl my grandpa would be proud to look at, smile, and say, "That's my granddaughter."

~"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."[Revelation 21:4]~