Happy Birthday, Grandpa

March 2nd; this day for me will always be equivalent with love and putting feelings to paper.  Four years ago I wrote my last letter to my grandfather.  It was his final birthday on this earth.  The letters started innocently enough.  What could you buy an 80 year old for his birthday or a 90 year old for that matter; you get the picture.  The letters became a beautiful tradition and an integral part of his birthday celebration.  For me, it was the rare opportunity to somehow give a small token back to one of your elders for all that he had given to you. 

My grandfather was then and will forever be a living embodiment of love.  He loved me deeply through all my faults, all my mistakes of the teen years, and those that came after.  I knew that I could tell him anything and there was no judgment and that he would never bring it up again.  What a beautiful model of understanding and forgiveness that I could only hope to emulate with my own grandchildren. 

Although, he has been gone for several years, I still feel his presence in ways I cannot understand or explain.  I hear his voice, I see his gentle smile and I feel him walking beside me on the journey.  He will always be the reminder of integrity and honesty that the rest of the world is so sadly lacking.  I "do the right thing" because I was taught by the master.  He lived at a time when your word was a promise and what you said and did mattered to the future of your family.  I make the most of every day because I watched him do that, up to and including his last.   Even in his final years, he got up every day and did what needed to be done.  If something was broken he fixed it, if it was dirty, he cleaned it.  He  took care of himself, his family, his house and his garden to the very best of his ability all the days of his life. 

This picture remains my personal favorite of all that have been taken.  His face says it all -  that smile without pretense, he hasn't a care in the world.  He is happy and content with who he is and his place in the world.  For me, memories, sights, and sounds come swirling back with a simple glance at it.  Father's Day with Paul and Arma Jo, and Grandpa.  Dinner at Joe Tess's place in Omaha, Nebraska because when asked what he wanted for dinner, he said catfish.  I can smell the fish, feel his arms around me, and hear that little laugh of his.  It is one of the many memories that I carry forward from a lifetime spent with this amazing man.  I have been blessed, truly blessed, to have had a grandfather so wise and wonderful, so loving and understanding.  I continue to give thanks that he was with us for so long and that my memories of him remain so vivid.  Lucky me!