Tomorrow

So this is the tomorrow post from Monday.

I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna. She's my favorite liberal feminist. (The last book I read before this one was What to Expect When You're Expecting. That is to say I haven't read a book in a while.) I'm not a bookie or critic, so I'm not going to expound on the reading other than it was a good read, a unique layout, and it only took me two months to read.

My grandfather (mother's father) passed away on January 10th. Grandpa had a stroke back in November which left him with right sided weakness, the inability to walk and talk, and confined to a wheelchair. He had a couple more TIA's (mini-strokes), or so they think, back at the beginning of January, which left him unable to swallow. No life extending without quality of life measures were to be taken, such as a feeding tube, and he quickly went to be with Jesus. I asked my mom how she is grieving, and she said that she has grieved for the past 2-3 years for my grandpa. His dying was a release. Here's some back story. My grandpa was an amazing grandfather, the kind that are a dying breed. My cousins and I think it had to do with the decades that shaped him. He grew up during the depression, on a farm with 12 brothers and sister. He fought in WWII, and he built the home where he raised his family. Even though his later years were spent in suburbia, he maintained an adventurer's lifestyle. He fished, camped, vacationed, skied, boated, was amazed with nature and taught that to his family. The family joke is that his ideal way to die would have been to wander into the woods and get eaten by a bear. His last 3 years or so saw such a decline where he couldn't go fishing, travel, or take care of grandma. The night before he died, he was alert enough to know who my mother and aunt were, and pulled each one down to him with his good arm while he was laying in bed and hugged and kissed them.

My mother-in-law says that wedding and funerals are the best times for family reunions and pictures, and we did get lots of them. Family came in from Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado, but most of us are in Texas. My in-laws were a great help during the funeral and during the evenings when Eric and I stayed at the hotel to hang out with family. My mom and aunt also had some very sweet friends who prepared lunch for the whole family after the funeral.

At Risky's BBQ in the Ft. Worth Stockyards, before the viewing


Longhorns' butts


My little stud. How ridiculous is it to put a tie on a 1 year old?!


The grandkids


The great grandkids


BNK