How I Miss You...

OK sisters & Mom - you need to stop here before you read ahead and cry a little.

Yesterday, on my drive home, I started thinking of my Grandpa Everett.  Probably because some little old man with gray curly hair drives a turquoise truck every now and then on my road.  When I see him, I think it's Grandpa for a second & then I remember that Grandpa is gone.

Then, that bad feeling hits.  It makes you miss him and makes you want to bawl, but you pull yourself together so when you get home no one thinks you are crazy.

That's grandpa Everett on the far left.  My other grandparents are fabulous too, but they are all alive so I get to spend time with them still!

Grandpa has been gone 6 years this August & I still can't believe it.  I miss him terribly some days.  You see, he was a farmer & farmed alongside my Dad every day of his life.  He got up every day, hit 3 gas stations & was at our house by 7 AM to get to work.  We didn't know he hit 3 gas stations until his visitation.  The gas station attendants honest to goodness came to his visitation because they adored him.  It was then that we found out he went to one for his snack cakes, then another for his cigars, and another one for his coffee every morning.  He brought them joy every day!

He was a hilarious man.  He always made me smile.  We have the best stories about him that our family laughs about.  He used to wear a black snow suit in the winter & would always melt the butt off of it because he'd stand too close to the salamander space heater.  He always had a box of Twinkies in his truck, and smelled of his cigars.  He even let me try chew when I was 5 - I remember it distinctly because he did it while Dad was in Ace.  I loved going with him and Dad, only because we'd get an ice cream cone or candy bar in town.  Not because we'd scoop hog crap and move cattle around - it wasn't pleasant work for a 9 year old girl who liked makeup and swimming.  Grandpa used to sit in a lawn chair in the machine shed & our pug Wally would always pee on his leg - too funny I know.  It'd always get Grandpa worked up!  I'll also never forget the time they tried to band our Great Pyranese dog - and Griz bit Grandpa - he had it coming that day!

At my wedding they dedicated "She thinks my tractor's sexy" in his honor & we danced.  He thought it was the best thing ever & so did I! 

I miss this man so much when I think of him, and will never forget how truly painful it was when we lost him.  It's my honor to have a son named after him, and to share the stories of grandpa with my children.  We even have a few of his treasures in Everett's room - how special.  I wish he could have met my babies because I know he'd be so proud.

So this Memorial day I remember my lost Grandfather.  He wasn't a veteran, but to my family he was a hero all the same.