Okay....first of all, for those who don't already know, my Grandpa passed away last Tuesday, February 24th after a brief battle with Mesothelioma. He was diagnosed on January 9th and at that time, we were told he had "months." Now, I'm sure most of my family will agree with me when I say I thought "months" implied at least 3 months...not 6 weeks. His death has been devastating, and in the interest of using this blog for what I originally intended it for, I want to blog about it so I'll never forget. (I hope my family members will understand and not be upset with me if I share a few personal moments here.) For 2 days during the visitation and funeral, one image was playing in my head on a continuous loop. The image was of my Grandpa and Gran on the day we were informed of his diagnosis at the hospital. They were sitting next to each other on his hospital bed holding each other, crying, and kissing. Gran was saying she didn't know what she was going to do without him and Grandpa kept repeating to her that he was so sorry and that he loved her. This moment between the two of them will be with me for the rest of my life...at least I hope it will be. I hope all of us will never forget the tremendous amount of love that my Grandparents had, and still have, for each other. That love is the reason I chose to marry my amazing husband on their anniversary, because if by chance that day had any effect on the life they shared together, I wanted to share in it. I like to think that if their life together had been captured on film, they would have been one of those legendary Hollywood love stories that people never stopped talking or writing about. The love and respect between them was always obvious to all of us. I hope our boys will feel that way about Eric and I one day.
Grandpa's funeral was beautiful. There were so many flowers and the funeral home made a wonderful slideshow set to music that played on a tv in the room for people to watch. The service at the church was moving and Father Gary delivered a very inspiring sermon. The songs that were chosen for the service were perfect. The service at the cemetary chapel was very emotional. Since Grandpa was a WWII Navy Veteran, the Navy sent 2 Naval Officers for the flag-folding ceremony and a recording of Taps was played. I was touched when I noticed one of the men had tears streaming down his cheeks as he folded the flag. It made me cry even harder to see that.
I wanted to share something about the funeral service at church. Those of you who were there already know about it. Parker wrote a poem for Grandpa after he passed. He brought the poem with him to the funeral home Thursday night because he wanted to put it in the casket before it was sealed. Several friends and family members read it and couldn't stop talking about how sweet it (and he) was. Friday morning, the funeral director asked me if Parker would be willing to read his poem at church during the funeral service. Parker said he would love to do it. Once we got to church, we were all worried about whether or not Parker would be able to make it through the poem because he was very emotional. I kept asking him if he was sure that he still wanted to read it and he kept telling me that he would be fine. When Uncle Mike was finished reading the beautiful eulogy he wrote, he announced that Grandpa's oldest Great-Grandson would be coming up to read a poem he wrote. Parker walked up to the pulpit and delivered the poem perfectly. I couldn't believe it. Parker sometimes stumbles with his words and has been known to shy away from crowds, but he projected his voice perfectly, spoke clearly, and didn't rush through it. Here is the poem he wrote:
Grandpa, Grandpa
Loving Grandpa
Always will love you
So smart and loving
Loved all his kids, grandkids,
and great grandkids. Love ya bunches!
Loving you is like a game I have won a trillion times.
Missing you is a heart breaking moment.
In Memory of Grandpa.
From your beloved Grandson, Parker.
Many people told me later that there wasn't a dry eye in the church while Parker was reading his poem. I lost count of how many people came up to me afterwards to tell me how amazing he was. Parker received a few cards in the mail this week from people telling him how wonderful he was. Our friends Pat and Marcia wrote to him to tell him how proud they were of him and how happy they were to call him their friend. Eric and I both were so proud of him. My Aunt Gayle said a friend of Gran's had called and mentioned that she had noticed Parker rubbing my Dad's back, trying to comfort him while my Dad sobbed during the flag-folding ceremony at the cemetary chapel. I have to say that I wasn't surprised to hear it, since that is just how Parker is. For example, Parker kept smiling at me at the funeral home. When I asked him why he kept smiling, he told me, "Because I know it makes you feel better when I smile." It's times like these that remind me that I'm such a lucky Mom.
