Saying Goodbye to a Great Man

This last weekend was incredibly rough as we all prepared to say goodbye to a truly wonderful man and an amazing grandpa/great-grandpa.  While I don't do many personal posts here on the site, I thought I would share a picture to honor my Grandpa Doc who passed away last night surrounded by loved ones. 

I found this picture in a stack of old photographs from my parents and realized that it shows the first time my grandpa ever got to meet me.  While all of my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins lived in Washington when I was born, my family was living in San Francisco while my dad was in medical school so it wasn't until I was a few weeks old that I finally got to meet my extended family when we made the trip up North to visit. 

I love how proud my sister looks with her new baby sister and I love
even more that the shot was taken not at my Grandpa Doc's house, but at my other grandparents' house in the
same town.  Clearly, there was a lot of love welcoming me into the
family as both sides came together that day to celebrate.

Grandpa, I hope on your
last day you felt all that love coming back to you tenfold.

And, because I can't resist, here's a few more recent shots. Yes, he was racing my daughter up a ramp and high-five-ing as late as last week.  I told you, he was an amazing man.

And with my son, joking and making each other laugh.  I believe this is a dog and pony show, but I could be wrong.

While my kiddos are young and won't remember everything about their great Grandpa Doc, I know they both love him dearly and I look forward to sharing all of my {many} stories someday. 

Someday, when the pain isn't so fresh, I will share the story of how my grandpa and I made a dollhouse one summer and how he laughed so hard at my "house plan" that my grandma came out to see what was so funny.  I will tell the story of how we went hubcab hunting together along the roads, how we went clam digging on the shore in the early mornings, how he would take us to the bank to get Sacajawea dollars, and how painful these past few years were as we watched him have periods of confusion mixed in with times where he was very much present and aware.

But, mostly, I will tell them how loved Grandpa Doc was and how much love he had for all of his family.  Grandpa, you will be
missed by all of us.