I will always remember...

This past weekend was pretty emotional for me. We traveled two hours south of here to help my grandmother pack up her house and celebrate the many years she's lived in Vernon. She's still very mobile and self-sufficient. She's doing very well for her age, but it's just time for her to make the transition and be here with us.

That house is pretty special. It's the house my great grandmother raised my granddaddy in. It's the house my mother grew up in, and it's the only house I've known to be my grandparents'. I can't count the memories made in that house. I get teary eyed thinking about it. I can't imagine not going there for Christmas and looking at all 18 stockings hanging from the mantle. I can't imagine not being there for our family reunions and watching the kids play baseball in the front yard. There will be no more sitting in the living room listening to grandmother play the piano, or making waffles in the kitchen, riding the gate, etc. I have to remind myself that these memories will live forever and even though the chapter of our lives in that house has ended, a new one has begun.

I want to take a second to mention my granddaddy. He was like no other man I've ever met in my entire life. He was the most humble, patient, compassionate, kind, and Godly man that I'm convinced ever walked the face of the earth. He loved like I don't know how to love...not just his family, but strangers. He would give until he had nothing else to give. He was my Jesus on earth and I still, to this day, miss him greatly. His time here was way too short and I only dream of the things I could have learned from him if I only had the time. I absolutely cannot wait to see him again and hear him say "Hey, doll-baby." I remember most his selfless nature and his complete dedication to building the church. I remember sitting beside him in church and when he was called to lead prayer, he would slip out of his seat on the pew and get down on his knees. My hope is to somehow cultivate half the faith and conviction my granddaddy had during his life here on earth. As much as I want him back, I know He's reaping the great, great reward of his work. I will miss him, always.

***I started this blog before I knew my cousin had written several things about my grandparents and our memories at the "old homeplace" too. She's included lots of pictures and details of our weekend, so visit Brooke's blog for more.