Goodbye Grandpa

I did'nt even have time to mourn the loss of my grandma before losing my grandpa a week later. Now I have to grieve for both of them. My poor mother, I can't even imagine the pain of losing both parents at the same time. Atleast they are together again right? This is the letter I wrote to my grandpa and read at his funeral.

Grandpa,
I can’t believe we are doing this all over again. Maybe it was because of your love for grandma and the need that you felt to take care of her or maybe it was because grandma was always so dependant on you and she needed you to be with her so she came and got you. The only thing that matters is that you are together again and you have reunited with your son Rory whom you loved so much and talked about all the time.
I remember the stories that you would tell me about Rory. After Whitney was born you hid a Lullaby CD under my pillow. You said it reminded you of Rory.
You were always sneaky, my fondest memory of you was when I was a little girl and every time you would come to visit you would sneak into my bedroom and move things around to be silly. You were also sneaky about slipping money into my hand. For some reason you felt you had to pay for my gas to come visit you.
You loved going for walks and you would look for treasures along the way. If you found any toys you would give them to me or Courtney. I also remember that you would keep the prizes from the cereal boxes and give them to us.
You loved working in the yard. Maybe that is where my mom gets it from. You always had a beautifully landscaped yard that was well manicured. You had a beautiful rock collection in your garden from all the rocks you collected from Quartzite. I remember the year that we went to Quartzite for Christmas and I helped you find rocks. Sometimes you made creations out of the rocks.
I will never forget the time that you were babysitting Courtney and I while my mom and dad were on vacation. I’m not sure where grandma was but I had to go to school and of course I had to have my hair done so I looked pretty. At the time I had bangs and my mom would curl them. I didn’t know how to use a curling iron so I asked you to curl my bangs. You of course did not know how to use a curling iron either but you attempted to do your best. Unfortunately, you burned my forehead and I went to school with silly looking hair.
I remember when I turned 16 and I just got my drivers license. I was driving you home from somewhere and my driving skills scared you because you said I was driving too fast. You reminded me of this moment several times throughout the years.
I would have to say one of my best most recent memories of you happened 3 years ago when you and grandma came to my house to visit for Whitney’s 4th birthday. After the party we went swimming. You didn’t have any swim trunks with you so you borrowed some of John’s high fashion board shorts. You looked so cute and “in-style” sporting around in those swim trunks and showing off your diving skills. I think you caught us all by surprise when you literally dove into the deep end at the age of 86 years old. I was even lucky enough to catch it on camera.
You came back to visit 4 months later for the blessing of my son. That was one of the moments that I will cherish forever. I was so blessed that you were able to take part in the circle to give my son a blessing. It meant the world to me to have you there!
I also have a lot of memories of your truck. Just little things like the rides we would go on to get ice cream or go ride on the big hills in the Avenues. Your homemade camper, watching the truck pull up in front of my parent’s house as I anticipated your arrival, the time you sold it and my mom fought to get it back, which she did. She gave it to John to use for work. We have your truck and camper stored at our shop. She told us we cannot get rid of your homemade camper until she dies because it will be too hard on her. She must have many great memories as well.
My mother loved her “daddy” so much! She always talked very highly about you. She adored you and loved your funny personality and sense of humor. She was definitely a “daddy’s girl”. I don’t think you could have asked for a better daughter. You made the right decision by giving her your power of attorney. She did everything in her power to give you the proper care you needed in your final days; Even though that proper care came with a price tag. It’s a good thing that you thought you were staying at a hotel that the phone company was paying for.
Unfortunately because of grandma’s behavior she was not able to live with you at Brighton Gardens. After a long 2 years you can finally be together again unless grandma gets kicked out of heaven for her behavior.
Even though grandma was difficult to live with you still stood by her side and took care of her. You have always been so caring and passionate towards others. You didn’t have a mean bone in your body.
You looked forward to grandma going on her trips so that you had some time alone without her nagging at you and you could actually go visit your brother and sister.
You had an amazing sense of humor and personality all the way up until the day you died. I remember the last time we came to visit you at Brighton gardens you were sitting in your wheelchair and you used your foot to grab Whitney’s foot and pulled her shoe off. This was a game you played with her. You were such a joy to be around.
I’m glad your two year battle with dementia has come to an end. It was so hard to see your confusion between me and Whitney. Every time you saw her you thought she was me and sometimes you would confuse me with my mom. It broke my heart every time I had to remind you who I was. I’m glad you are now at peace.
You were the best grandpa in the world! I will miss you dearly and will always remember the good times we had. I love you grandpa! Goodbye, until we meet again!

Love, Mindy