It's been some time since I had anything to write about on my blog, besides the new house and all the work that it involves. When it's winter up here, I all but hibernate and only come out when necessary.
This is a tough post for me. On Saturday I received a phone call from my uncle in Virginia. My grandparents also live there, and the call was to tell me that my grandfather was not doing well, and the doctors said that he wasn't going to be alive much longer. He had been in the hospital for several weeks and wasn't improving. I made some quick decisions, and decided to drive to Va. for a visit before it was too late. Ryan and I drove all day Sunday and arrived about 8:30 and my uncle came to meet us since I had never been to his house before. Monday morning. my grandmother, uncle and I made the trip to the hospital. I can't explain how hard it was to see my only grandfather in that bed, struggling to breathe. I held his hand and talked to him, the doctors seem to think that even though he couldn't respond, he could hear people and we should talk to him. I told him how much I loved him and that I would be back to see him. We were getting ready to leave and I reached up and stroked his cheek, and he turned his head slightly and opened his eyes and looked at me. Until then, he hadn't opened his eyes for over a week. I think that once he knew on Sunday that I was on my way down, he waited for me. We received the call Monday night that he had passed. Even as difficult as it is to know that he is gone, I was glad to have had the chance to see and touch him one more time. He was a wonderful person, kind, caring, loving, funny and always had time to spend with me. Whether it was in his workshop when I was small, pounding nails in an old board, or when I was older, showing me how to use the wood working equipment in his shop, making gifts for the family.
I couldn't have asked for a better grandfather.