More random memories of Grandpa

More random memories of Grandpa:

*When Jonathon and I got engaged, I called one night and asked if Grandpa could keep his eyes out for a couch for us to use in our first apartment at the garage sales he loved to go to. He sounded grumpy but said 'okay.' The next morning he called us at 8 o'clock and told us to come pick up this couch he'd bought at a yard sale. I couldn't believe it!
*He came to all my lacrosse games, basketball games, and band performances. Every birthday dinner. Paid for every boating trip to Lake Powell, 4th of July breakfast, and annual Richards Golf Tournament. Even though at the end of them, he'd always seem grumpy and wanting to go home, you know he loved getting to be there and wouldn't miss it for the world.
*He helped my mom fix her car and house so many times when she came to him needing help
*He came up to Portland for my wedding in the Portland temple
*He was the first person I wrote about in my first journal when i was 8 years old. I wrote about how my grandpa sent me a $50 bill (I had never seen one in person before!) because he couldn't come to my baptism and that was the COOLEST THING.
*When Grandpa told me I had left my hotmail email account open on his computer and he saw I had 754 unread messages so he tried to delete them all. Thank goodness he couldn't figure it out.. He was amazed I could have so many unread emails. I've been working on that investment for years!
*Grandpa loved those little hard Oats n' Honey granola bars in the green packaging. I loved them with him.
*Grandpa always laughed when I'd come over and head straight for the "candy drawer" in the corner of their kitchen and tell me something about how he couldn't believe a dental hygienist could love candy so much and how I must have ten cavities with all the candy I eat.
*He loved his stupid dog Koko. A stinky black pug that he picked out himself at the pound. About a week after their dog Canon died, Grandpa came home with Koko. I researched the pug breed and found listing after listing of how they are smelly, mis-behaved, shedding, farting, snoring, stubborn dogs. And Grandpa LOVED her. She'd fall asleep on his lap all the time. She was his little girl. He especially loved that she didn't bark, unlike Cosmo. :) He hated how Cosmo barked so much and even bought him a bark collar once that Grandma refused to put on him because she thought it was inhumane.
*In my semi-final lacrosse game, during warm-ups, my grandpa came walking across the field from the fan side to where we were practicing. He told me "Nancy, when you captains go to the middle to flip for which side to take first, you need to shoot South first. In 45 minutes, the sun will be setting and will go right into the other goalie's eyes and she won't be able to stop your shots. You understand me?" When the time came, I called for heads and we won the toss. Following my Grandpa's advice, we shot South first. Grandpa always claimed he won that game for us. Haha. Some old guy sitting on the sideline won the game without even lifting a finger! :)
*Every summer our family went to Lake Powell. When we were younger, my grandpa would let us sit on his lap and drive the boat. We all loved this. We also loved how he would create the BEST waves for us to go over and try to throw us off the tube. His boat was named "Tooth Fairy."
*When I was little, I LOVED going to Grandpa's dental office because of the treasure chest. My favorite thing in the world was the rings. They were just those little 25 cent fancy looking rings for little girls. And since I was his grand daughter, I could take as many as I wanted. I took at least one for each finger every time. :)

Sigh, I want to write down everything I can remember for fear of forgetting it down the road as I get older. I love my Grandpa and I'm grateful I was old enough to get to know him on a more personal level before he died. Even now that he is gone, I've continued to learn things from him and about him that amaze me. He is the closest person I've ever had in my life to die. It leads one to wonder about what happens after death and makes the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation so much more meaningful, important, and personal. I know if we live our lives right, we'll be together again.

People keep asking if I'm okay and I feel like.. I can't say I feel TOO sad or bad. Of course it'll be hard not having him around, but he lived a long, successful, great life and got to "go" in a relatively easy way without much suffering. He got to enjoy life by eating whatever he wanted, drinking soda, not exercising, going on cruises, didn't get so old that he couldn't drive anymore, didn't have to experience being a "vegetable" at all or deal with losing his pride in having to wear Depends. He had started having episodes of Alzheimers more recently and who knows how hard that would have been down the road.. He had his stroke shortly after an amazing three week cruise to Europe and South America. He didn't have to suffer much pain and yet lived long enough after the stroke to allow time for his family and friends to accept our loss and say goodbye; so it wasn't completely unexpected.

I felt peace when I said goodbye to my grandpa. I'm happy for him to be able to move on the the next step of life, where he doesn't have any pain or worries. I'm grateful for everything he taught me and continues to teach me through the way he lived his life. I love you Grandpa!