Family

Thank you everyone for the kind words about my grandfather. It's been a rough week. I went back home for a few days to be with my family. It was sad, dramatic (my family is CRAZY), but most of all, the days were filled with love. We took comfort in our memories of Grampie and the fact that he is no longer suffering. He was diagnosed last Christmas with a rare disease called amyloidosis, for which there is no cure. His last days were filled with pain and suffering.

The events of the last week make me marvel at the strength of the women in my family. My aunts, mother and grandmother were with him at the end and sang his favorite songs to him as he left this world. My mother in an unwavering voice put together the best of our memories in his eulogy. And my little Nan, all five feet of her, was so strong. The night after his funeral, she was tending to a pregnant cow in her farm's fields. She noticed that coyotes were circling the cow. She took a crowbar with her to deliver the calf - no coyotes were getting that cow!

Today was my first day back at school. It was so touching to hear the concern voiced from fellow teachers and students. The kids were so happy to see me back - that was really surprising. They weren't too bad when I was gone, which was also surprising. Staff members who had noticed that I wasn't around, not knowing what had happened, came to make sure I was alright. That concern, along with the kind words left on my blog and the love shown in my family, are so comforting right now. Thank you for that.

April 1 - Edited to add a couple of great pictures that were emailed to me.


Grampie is so handsome here. However, the black and white photos don't do justice to his bright blue eyes.


A rare shot of my grandparents being affectionate with each other. They look so much in love.