I suppose I should consider myself lucky.  Here I am, 30 years old, and I have only just recently lost one grandparent.  My maternal grandfather passed away last Saturday morning at his home.  He would have been 95 on Friday.  There is, of course, sorrow with his passing.  But at the same time, there is a lot of joy at the fullness and completeness of his life.  Not many people live to be (almost) 95.  And even fewer still remain healthy enough throughout their lives to stay in their own home with limited assistance until the day they die.  If I could ask for anything, that would be it - to be healthy, happy and capable until the ripe old age of 95.

Honestly, I'm not sure if his death has really fully sunk in for me.  While grandpa was always around, he was not always the easiest person to communicate with.  He is one of those people that always seemed 100 years old to me.  He has always walked with a limp, and I have never known him to not have 2 hearing aids constantly whistling when we were over visiting.  He was not the talkative sort - at least not with me.  It usually took prodding from grandma to get him to share stories of his childhood - one of which involved him and his brother tying two cats together by the tail and slinging them over a clothesline to watch them fight to death.  Sick, I know, but he grew up in a different time.  Either that, or he got a kick out of our horrified expressions when he shared the story.  I'm not sure it would be very easy to tie up two cats - but I suppose if anyone could do it, it would be 2 young boys on a farm.

Most of the other stories I have heard have been from my mom.  He used to wake her up by slowly letting the air out of a balloon - causing that high pitched whistle.  What a way to wake up!

What I will always remember about grandpa - 

I remember him playing the harmonica.  Only a couple times, and I was very young, but I distinctly remember being fascinated by that talent. 

I remember running into him at the mall when I was in junior high.  The mall was the big hang out - not just for kids like me, but also for old guys like him that loved to people watch.  I would always run over and say hi to him and his cute little old buddies. 

I remember when he made us stilts for the first time.  I can't remember if this was at our request or if he just had the brilliant idea to make some.  But I know we ravished that first pair of stilts within one hour of use - and begged him to make more.  This became a summer-long obsession for us.  We would walk everywhere with stilts.  And when we lost our balance and the stilts came crashing down, they would break - especially if we were on concrete.  So grandpa's mission was to create the invincible stilt.  He did finally make some that withstood our abuse, but summer ended and I'm sure we tucked them away and forgot about them.  I wonder if my folks still have them stashed in the garage somewhere.

I remember at my wedding, when I went to their room to get them for the rehearsal dinner, he was standing in front of the mirror, deliberately combing his hair into place.  I was always amazed at how much hair he had for his age.  But I think what fascinated me most was the deliberate strokes he made with the comb.  I don't think men take that kind of time and consideration with their hair anymore.

In my February post, I mentioned the bouquet of flowers that was given to my grandparents on our wedding.  I loved hearing from mom about how grandpa would stop in at their office and talk about how him and grandma got those flowers.  It really made his day.

I remember the endless supply of National Geographic and Reader's Digest that would end up at our house.  With how much that man read, he must have known everything.  Whenever I end up in a waiting room that has either of those magazines, they are typically my first pick.

I will always remember his laugh.  He had one of those wonderful laughs - he wouldn't hold back if he thought something was funny.

I guess the way I feel now is that when I go visit grandma, it will seem more like 15 years ago when I would go over there.  She would be home, but he would be off, running around town.  And maybe that's exactly what he's doing.