Grandpa

this is my grandpa. i've posted this picture before, but i absolutely adore this picture of my grandpa. he doesn't like it; he says it makes him look like an old man, but it's the grandpa i always picture when i think of my grandpa. he's old, that's a given. it's hard to have grand kids and not be old, but he is also weathered. he's the most amazing man i've ever known. he is strong in the gospel and wise beyond his years. any time i want advice or need a sounding board, he's the guy i go to. i know the advice i get will transcend all my obsessions and drama, and be full of good old-fashioned common sense.

growing up, i spent a lot of time with my grandpa. not because i was just so pleasant to be around, but because i was constantly getting in trouble. we lived with my grandparents, and my grandma would watch us while our parents/grandpa were working. being the stubborn, bratty child i was, i clashed with my grandma quite a lot. it was a common thing that i would be sent to my grandpa's room when he got home, if only to give my sweet grandma some respite.

my siblings were terrified of being sent to grandpa. i am not sure what type of torture they thought he conducted, but i loved being sent to timeout with grandpa. my stubbornness didn't let me share their fear. i loved being sent to grandpa's room. it was the only room in the house with air conditioning, and we would usually just sit and watch cable (which was a bigger deal back then) while he took his nebulizer. i am not sure if i sometimes acted up just to get sent there on a hot day, but i think i'll plead the fifth for now...

i remember (and even if i didn't, people tell me this story all the time) the first time i stood up to my grandpa. my brother had ripped a drawing i was making, so i stole his drawing (i may have ripped it and was supposed to say sorry... one or the other!). i felt completely validated in doing so, but grandpa told me to give it back to my brother. i refused, and grandpa balked for a second. in his line of work, he was rather used to being obeyed, and used to the obedience following him home. well, it didn't that day, and we had a regular stare down; where we both refused to give in. my stubbornness finally bested his, and i went down in family legend history as the only child to ever stand up to grandpa. :)

this weathered, wise old man is the yard stick to which all men are judged in my mind. he loves his family fiercely and is the best grandpa a girl could ask for. as his birthday approaches, i am nothing but grateful that he is a part of my life. i am not sure what i'd do without him, i love him so much!

Thanks for always being there, Grandpa! I love you so much!!