It is time to once again celebrate the most amazing man on the planet. My grandfather is turning 105! My annual gift is always a letter to share my love. The 2013 version follows.
February 26, 2013
Dear Grandpa,
In just a few short days, I will be winging my way home. I am coming home to Iowa, to that cute little house on West Graham and to your loving arms. Eppley Airport has become the threshold to all those warm feelings that symbolize the home of my childhood. As the plane touches down I know that I am only moments away from being swept away with that love of home. Grandpa, you are that home for me.
Home is a safe refuge from the world. You are warm and loving, always welcoming me in out of the cold or heat to leave behind whatever needless worries or concerns have occupied my mind. I step through the door and all that matters is that once again I am with you. I have been given one more chance to laugh and learn from you.
To be home is to know love. You are love personified. Our time together is filled with hugs and kisses, holding hands and just sitting together, side by side, as we talk. Nobody does that better than you. I never leave you without the knowledge that I am loved for who I am, for all that I have become and that you are proud of me.
Home is where we are safe and sound. I have the belief that nothing bad can ever happen as long as I am with you. You have always been there to protect me and get me through the rough stuff. Your simple words of advice is the light that leads me though the challenges that have made me stronger. The model you have created for me to live life simply and honestly has taught me how to endure as the world becomes more and more unrecognizable as a place that is loving and secure.
Home is the locus of the family. Grandpa, your house is filled with family, not only in human form but the pictures on the wall confirm it as well. It is there that I can see myself as I truly was and am. I see me as a daughter, a graduate, a wife and mother and now grandmother. The journey is there to behold for each of your descendents with just a simple glance around the living room. The message is clear, family is all that matters.
Home is where the heart is. I walk through your door and could cry just from the emotion of it all. I am loved. I am wanted. I am respected. Grandpa, I can't wait to see you again. I always know that when we are together something wonderful is about to happen. I know that I will leave better than I was when I came. I will be smarter, able to do something that I couldn't do before, more caring, and filled with wisdom that I will share with my own children and grandchildren in the years to come. To be in your presence is to know that wisdom wrapped in love is about to be dropped in my lap. And I will scoop it up like candy and devour it.
So as I prepare to celebrate the birthday of the most amazing man on the planet, my heart is filled with love and gratitude for all that you have been for me through the years. You are love. You are home. You are all that I hope to me for my own grandchildren: a safe harbor from the storms of life, a place to laugh at nothing and everything, a warm embrace that will be felt for all of eternity.
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