Sunday, January 8, 2012
Dear Granpa... Grandpa..
Dear Grandpa When I was just 1 year old, my dad's dad died. I never had the opportunity to meet him and Dad didn't talk about him much. As I began working on compiling this list over the last several months he has been on my mind.
Here are some interesting things I found out ab Grandpa Gil:
- he graduated from McDonald's Hamburger U
- he was retired from the US Marine Corp
- he was amazing with animals - training dogs etc. he even trained a cat to do what he asked!
- in Vietnam Korea (corrected by Dad) he had a pet rooster that alerted them of incoming fire, seriously!
- he was a VERY good whistler - Dad said "He could warble a tune as well as an opera singer could sing an aria"
- he was a VERY good whistler - Dad said "He could warble a tune as well as an opera singer could sing an aria"
When he died he had been living in North Carolina, so I started there trying to find where his headstone was. Dad had gone to his funeral and graveside, but that was back in the 70's. On one site I found his obituary - WOW! That was a neat find... And it led me to confirm another site's direction on where he was buried. Now, to plan the trip to Graham, North Carolina to see the headstone. I had completely planned the trip there a few months ago. I had spent the day looking up information on Grandpa Gil and planning the trip. The following day was a Saturday. I received a phone call- my mother's dad, my Granpa Billy had passed away. I felt so bad. I mean, here I had been spending all this time trying to find out information on my Grandpa Gil and scheduling a trip to see him and then my other Granpa (who lived 1.5 hours away) dies. I could have spent the day with him. Hindsight is always 20/20.
From Dec. 2010 to Oct. 2011 it was not a good time for our collective family - Dec. 2011 - my dad's mom died, more on her at another time.. January 2011 my hubby's cousin died (he was 39), in May my DH's Grandma (Dad's mom) died, in June his Grandma (Mom's mom) died, then in Oct. I lose my last grandparent. This started a blur in my life.
(DH and MawMaw Collins, DH and Sean,
RIP MawMaw Collins and Sean)
DH and Mawmaw Dancer 
(DH and MawMaw Collins, DH and Sean,
RIP MawMaw Collins and Sean)
So much had been going on. In July I went in for an outpatient girl surgery and they ended up doing a total hysterectomy, hello, I'm 37! UGH! That was on a Friday, 2 days later my brother had a motorcycle wreck and ends up in ICU with a collapsed lung, broken wrist, broken ribs - a deer ran into him. This Sunday was the same Sunday that our Dad was leaving for Italy. Dad got a job offer to work in Italy doing what he loves. So, he leaves my brother in ICU, me on the couch recouping from surgery to fly to a job leaving us all behind. Thankfully we have all mended pretty well. Dad did just spend a few weeks home for Christmas, and I digress.... A few weeks after the hysterectomy, my husband let me know that we were going to be leaving the church we had been at for the last 3 years. Ministry happens, God leads, we follow... But the timing, LORD!!!!!
Now you have the whole picture, or at least most of it. Hysterectomy, Brother motorcycle wreck with deer and in the hospital for a week, Dad in Italy, leave our church, we have lost DEAR family members and now I don't have any more grandparents... But wait, there's more! Not to bore you with the family stories, I'll hit you with the highlights. Grandpa had been married for more than 30 years to this lady who wasn't so nice, but in the last few years she has gotten a lot nicer with the onset of Alzheimer's. i know it is sad for anyone to have the disease, but it has made her a nicer person. Granpa had not had a relationship with his kids of much consequence over the last several years so I felt obliged to help take care of finalizing his estate. long story longer, I have learned soooooo much about what needs to be done to prepare for death and then what paper work is needed to be done afterwards, who knew!!! (I'll have a post for that later.) I received a phone call letting me know that he was gone and that he wanted to be cremated. A few days later I received the phone call that he was ready to be picked up from the funeral home.
Granpa Billy
Can you see where this is going? Well, I couldn't... I felt like rocking back and forth in the corner, but I had too much to do. And now, I had Granpa to pick up. Please know that we do what we must to get by. And also please know that I NEVER said I was normal. For some reason, I ended up with Granpa - in a box... Hey, you can't buy that in a store!!
Good things a/b Granpa being in a box:
-he stopped smoking
- he didn't mind going shoping with me
- he didn't want anything from the fast food restaurants (cheap date)
- we could and did talk for hours
- he could come stay at my house
- we could take rides together
- he was in my closet for weeks, which makes the phrase, Granpa finally came out of the closet a real hoot!
Granpa Billy's final box...
I know this sounds strange, but Granpa in a box was quite therapeutic. I pray you never have to experience it, but if you do, embrace the moment... Make some memories. It will put the importance of a bucket list in perspective for you, that is for SURE!! Not to mention the material I got for my comedy routine! P.S. Please note that in the event "Grandpa in a Box" becomes an actual item to market, I thought of it first.. I mean Grandpa in a Box could be as big as Soap on a Rope!! For different reasons of course. Needless to say I have put the trip to visit Grandpa Gil's final resting place in hold for now. I do know where he is... I will learn more about him... And once I can have time to get a trip together, I will. Sadly Granpa Billy won't get to make the trip, he would have enjoyed it though. If you are wondering what is up with Granpa Billy, he is now in his final resting place. And my DS upgraded his box to a really nice one (see above). All things considered it went as well or better than expected. Thanks for asking...
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