Remembrance

My grandfather's service is today over in Idaho.  I can't be there, but it's definitely on my mind today.  I felt like I'd been doing ok most of last week, but things seem to be a little more difficult today, so there's obviously more grieving to be done.  But do we ever really stop grieving the loss of a loved one?  While the initial feelings are definitely the most raw, I would think that when you care about someone, you'll always miss them and feel sad that they're gone.

The past week has brought up lots of memories about my grandpa and I've enjoyed thinking about each and every one.  I loved visiting my grandpa when I was younger (before I ended up with so many siblings that the entire family couldn't fit in one car and make our way over there to see him).  You see, he had an arcade game of Donkey Kong.  Yes, the full coin operated machine that you'd find in an arcade.  He had it so that the coin area was unlocked and filled with quarters, so you could just reach in and pop another quarter in to keep the game going as long as you wanted.  Having that game around made him a super cool grandpa in my mind.

He and grandma Darleen (my dad's step mom) would always take me shopping for clothes.  And they'd make sure to pick out the little girl clothes that were in style.  Stuff my parents would never buy.  Are your grandparents usually the ones to make you feel trendy?  It was always so much fun.

My grandpa loved food and while the memories here are a little fuzzy, I keep going back to him taking me out for burgers and fries when we visited.  Maybe that's where my love of a good charbroiled burger was developed.  When we head over there in November, my dad plans on taking us out to Cook's for a Cook Burger.  It's been a long time since I've had a Cook Burger.

Another memory of visiting my grandparents is of Darleen watching soap operas and attempting to tell me the backstories to everything that was happening.  My family never watched soap operas and I thought it was just fascinating.  I can laugh now because I think they're completely silly, but I vividly remember sitting there wide-eyed watching "forbidden" soap operas with her, as my grandpa would shake his head and laugh.  I remember trying to watch soap operas by myself after we got back home, but it just wasn't the same.

But in all the memories I have of him, I remember his smile.  His laugh.  He was a happy, joyful person who loved his family very much.  It really hurts that I wasn't able to see him again before he passed away, but I am thankful that I have such wonderful memories of him.