grandpa great

Growing up, I had the best of both worlds when it came to grandparents. I had a grandma and grandpa living just a few miles away, who were classy, gentle, wonderful people. My grandpa told us stories and let the boys "help" in the workshop until his health prohibited it. Grandma picked us up from school and made us treats. She taught me how to make pie crusts and embroider. In all my life, I never saw her wear jeans. Her casual clothes were a pants and matching sweater set, worn with low heeled pumps and pearls. She was refined, genuine, sweet and as classy as a lady could be. We spent hours at their house playing cards, watching the Disney channel and going for walks. We took care of them as their health deteriorated, even getting ready for my first formal dance in grandma's hospital room so she could share the experience of my first date. I miss them.

But I am one of those lucky girls who got to know and grow up with not just one, but two sets of amazing grandparents. Living several hours away were another grandma and grandpa who were so different in many ways. My dad's parents were gentle, classy, quiet people. Full of love and laughter but age and health kept them quiet and close to home. My mom's parents were younger and more adventurous. The raised horses, owned a cabin the mountains and took us four wheeling. Christmas trips to their house meant snow ball fights in their front yard and going "hoodin" (upside down hood of a car tied several feet behind grandpa's truck as we go barreling down a snow covered road). Summer vacations meant trips to the cabin where we explored the mountains on the back of four wheelers, built forts in the forest and crafted useless but cute home decorations. At their house we climbed trees in the name of "helping" to bottle peaches and got to hang out with our cousins and best friends. For Easter we went to the sand dunes and "rolled Easter eggs".

So today's post is dedicated to that grandpa, who I know to be full of life, humor and a bit of stubbornness. He's a tease and a prankster, the kind of guy who turns his hearing aids off to drown out the women chatter as well as a spiritual giant who can explain about "that little feller" to an eight-year-old being baptized (about listening to promptings of the Spirit). He is a man who has lived through several life threatening experiences when science told us he would not.

Years ago, he was in an accident where his truck was totaled, a load of drywall shearing off the cab of his semi and setting the whole thing ablaze. Under the mass, survived my grandpa. He had some amazing experiences (ask someday and I'll tell you, it's one of those stories that a family keeps close to their heart) and eventually made a full recovery despite having his leg replaced with steel rods (I have to tell that part to explain how one of his favorite things to do is to walk through pre-9/11 airport security and innocently letting the alarm go off several times before telling them about his leg). This among other stories tell you that this man is strong with at least as many lives as a cat.

Recently, he had a massive stroke. And this is the part where I don't know what to say...

But despite initial doctor's reports, he is now one month from the stroke and he is a fighter. One doctor said (with all due respect) that if he were to genetically engineer an army, he would want it made from this man's DNA. His health and activity level is amazing for his age. His recovery defies science and while the road ahead will be long and no one knows what to what extent he can recover, grandpa is determined. I saw him two weeks after hospitalization and again this weekend where he has just been moved for rehab therapy. The change is phenomenal and I am so grateful for being there, for getting to hold his hand and see recognition in his eyes. He watched my little girls and studied them, knowing who they were. I talked to him, reminiscing about the cabin and his dogs and his eyes communicated with me. My little butterfly sat on his bed and chattered to him. She insisted on holding his hand, reading to him and hearing him say her name. I could tell it was hard and could see his frustration at his limited abilities. But he tried and I heard just enough to know its what he said.

I love him so, so much.