Memories.... Grandpa Bob

I looked back through my pictures from when we met a couple years ago, I didn't have any.
I looked on my phone for a video or an audio recording, nothing there either.
I looked at my friend's blog and there are lots of pictures there, but nothing I personally took, so I didn't want to steal.

But one thing I do have is memories. You see I, like you, knew Grandpa Bob from all the fun stuff that Lily and Muffin had written and posted over the years. But I also got to meet him at one of the most heartbreaking times in my life. He, Lily, Muffin, Kim and Rolf opened up their house in Florida for Reed and I to come down for my Uncle Bob's funeral. In fact he took us out to eat at what has become the maker of Reed's favorite salad dressing. He would get up and have breakfast with us, or would be fussing around getting ready to go play cards with this friends, and that night he would talk to us about how the day went with our family. He would have moments of great lucidity, when he would talk about his job, his wife, his kids, his life in New York, and their travels as a family. Then he would have moments of confusion when he didn't know where he was or how he even got there, when seconds before he was fine.

It is heartbreaking to see the long, painful death of someone who is so intelligent and lively. It is almost more painful to see their decline, slow and steady, instead of a quick, but painful, death to heart attack or an accident. I saw Kim and Rolf treat him with love and patience, even when he was being cantankerous and ornery in his confusion... and sometimes cantankerous and ornery while  completely lucid. (Such is is the way of older, and younger, people who are smart and want their own way.)  In fact, I couldn't believe she and Rolf had enough energy, and hope, to deal with Grandpa Bob's condition every.single.day. But they did, with love and honor for the man who also raised Kim to understand and know how to show that love and honor to the world.

Kim and family gave us this tissue pack as part of our Christmas 2014 gift. We had not used them, cause they were so cute...and I have a hard time using anything gifted to me this adorable. I have to admit this year they were needed several times....the death of Milo and the death of my poor company (another story for another day), but today I broke them open for Grandpa Bob.

We honor Grandpa Bob today.
We honor Kim, Rolf, Lily and Muffin for their care and love for Grandpa Bob over the years.
We thank Grandpa Bob for opening his house to two hurting souls and giving us reasons to smile when we mostly likely would have sat and cried.
We thank Kim, Rolf, Lily and Muffin for introducing us, and the rest of Blogville, to an amazing man.
We are all better people for knowing you, reading about your adventures, and falling under your charm.


Rest in Peace, Grandpa Bob.
You deserve nothing less and everything more.