It's Been Way Too Long

If you didn't already guess, I've been pretty busy. School started with a bang in the middle of August (way too early in my opinion). Then my grandpa got sick and had to go to the hospital at the end of August. I've been down to San Diego 3 different times since then. The first time was because it didn't look like he was going to make it. But he made it through another week and I went down again for his big Birthday Bash which was the weekend before his 90th birthday (which happened to be on September 11th). I said good-bye to him for the last time on Sunday, September 9th. We both knew it would be the last time we saw each other on this planet. He dies the following night just hours away from his birthday. It was 9:28 pm, pacific time. This meant it was 12:28 am in his birth town, Buffalo, NY. So in a way, he did make it to his 90th birthday like he wanted. I've always wanted to live until my 100th birthday. I hope my timing is as good as his. My 3rd trip was just this past weekend for his memorial service.

I seem to be having a harder time dealing with my grandfather's death than I did my grandmother's 5 years ago. Maybe it was because I had recently gotten married and was still happy from that. I think it's more likely that when Grandma dies, I felt like part of her still lived on through my grandpa. We could still go to their house, the house still smelled the same. Everything was basically as it was before she left, except that she wasn't there. Now that Grandpa is gone, everything will be different. The family has to sell the house at some point, so it will no longer be the hub of our family. Having him gone means they both are really gone now. They mean so much to me and were there for me when I needed someone the most. They taught me, more than any one else in the world, what it means to be a good person. When I think of the word Christian, I think of them before I think of the perverted thing that politicians would have us believe is Christianity. I thank them for giving me the gift of faith, the tiny spark still burns in me even through all of the doubt I have experienced. My spiritual views certainly don't even come close to mirroring theirs, but they gave me a strong foundation for which I will forever be grateful.