Goodbye Grandpa

Today we lay to rest my most loyal reader, Grandpa M.  Grandpa passed away suddenly Monday night, and it's still hard to believe that he is really gone.  We have spent a lot of time together with the family this week, remembering all the good times we had.  The grandchildren have all been asked to share some memories today at the funeral.  This is what I have written...

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I am proud to say that, being the oldest, I am the one who made Grandpa a grandpa. And he was a good one, as all seven of us grandchildren have fond memories of time spent with both Grandma and Grandpa.

My memories span 36 years – and as I have been thinking back this week on them, I realize that the many things I remember and cherish about Grandpa were consistent throughout all of those years. I will share three of those things.

One of the fondest memories I have from spending time with Grandma and Grandpa as a child was going along with them camping to Falcon Lake or to Birds Hill Park during the summer. Camping was always a big part of Grandpa's life, and he loved to have the grandchildren there. It was very hard on Grandpa when they just recently had to 'retire' from camping. The VERY BEST part of camping with them was going treasure hunting through empty campsites. Somehow we always found coins that were left behind by other campers and could spend them on candy at the campground store! We spent hours foraging through the campground, collecting as much money as we could. It was only as an adult that I learned that the coins were NOT actually left by other campers, but stealthily dropped by Grandpa out of his pocket while we were exploring. He always had a way of making life exciting as a child. Even after I was grown up and living in Winnipeg, I always looked forward to visiting Grandma and Grandpa at Birds Hill where he would barbeque up a great meal of farmer sausage.

Another thing that always remained consistent with Grandpa was his need to treat his grandchildren. As a young girl that meant joining Grandpa and the other men for coffee at the Lowe Farm café, where Grandpa was sure to buy me french fries and chocolate milk, even though the other men disapproved. Grandpa was also sure to remind me, often (you know how he liked retelling his favourite stories), of how I would not share the chocolate bars he had given me with him when I was a girl. Even now, when you went to visit, Grandpa was always persistent in trying to offer ice cream, chocolates, cookies and pop – all the good things Mom and Dad never want you to have. No secret that my two year old son LOVES snack time at great Grandma and Grandpa's! Grandpa also stopped in at our house frequently to visit after having coffee uptown, bringing treats to us like my son's first box of Arrowroot cookies, and just the other day, wagon wheels for us to snack on.

The last memory I will share is that, for as long as I can remember, Grandpa loved his technology. He was the first person I knew with a microwave, a VCR, a CD player. When he got his camcorder I spent the next few years hiding from Grandpa at gatherings, and the video footage proves that. Although, I think we are all grateful for those old home videos now. Even now, as a senior, Grandpa bought himself a computer and learned how to navigate the world wide web. He got an iPhone and texted and FaceTimed with his grandchildren. Even just a few weeks ago Grandpa came over to my house to show me how to use my new smart TV. Did you know you can put an app on your phone to make it act like a remote control? I didn't, but Grandpa taught me that, and I think that is pretty cool.

The thing I will miss most about grandpa are the unexpected drop in visits, and how he always said I love you, Amanda, with a hug good bye every time. Tuesday night, after leaving Grandma's, was the first time I pulled away from their house that Grandpa was not standing outside, waving good bye. He'll be waving to us from heaven now.
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I always write this blog knowing that Grandpa is in my audience.  I still will, because I know he'll still be reading it from heaven.