saying good-bye...

to my grandfather, my pup-pa. he was a devoted husband of 67 years. a loving father. an encouraging, generous, and compassionate grandfather. he was an adoring great- grandfather to olivia ("miss america") and jack ("happy-hooligan"). a brave canadian navy solider who survived being torpedoed during world war 2. the finest meat cutter you would ever meet. the most genuine friend. a servant. a man of faith. funny. a people person in every sense of the word. a great man.
for the last several days i have spent as much time as i possible could sitting by his side and just holding his hand knowing that soon i would have to say good-bye. i would not get to reminisce about the days we spent together (it's just what we always did). he favorite stories to talk about were how i used to spend hours playing baseball in his backyard as a child, or how i would spend summers with he and my grandma in michigan, or how i caught the biggest fish when we went fishing together, or about the roadtrip we all took to the baseball hall of fame, niagra falls, and up into the most beautiful parts of canada where we saw the northern lights, or all of the milestones of my life because he didn't miss one- my first words, holidays, choir concerts, graduation, my wedding, the birth of my babies. i never doubted that he loved me or was proud of my life because he took every opportunity he had to tell other people about me and all the things we did together. embarrassing at times, but he loved me well. he was a natural encourager and always made me smile when i was around him.

he lived a full and wonderful life and for that i am so thankful. only 5 days ago we were sitting around talking/reminiscing and now he is in heaven with jesus. our family is going to miss his presence, but he has left his legacy in each of us.

{click here} to see the obituary written about his incredible life. it tells a great story about a great man.