Goodbye Grandpa

He could always find a place for a nap.

Holding his first great-grandbaby.....Victoria.

Victoria and great grandpa....she is 1 year old here.

Kayaking in Kauai.....a precious family trip.

My memories of my grandpa are of camping trips in the tent trailer, Wild Animal Park and the Zoo. Family holidays where he always carved the turkey wearing my grandma's apron. Telling me not to hold on to the side of the pool so much because it would make my fingers raw (and I always did, and my fingers always got raw). As a child my most vivid memories are of him taking out the trash, and falling alseep anywhere and at anytime.

When the first signs of Dementia began, it was very hard for me to accept. My grandparents have always been in my life, and I couldn't imagine it any different. Alzheimers is a horrible disease that takes the mind, often before the body. Some of the things that he began to do was funny, or maybe we just laughed to keep from crying. Eventually he became too much for my grandma to care for and went to an active care center. There my grandma diligently visited him for hours daily, often feeding him. I, however, couldn't bring myself to visit. I told myself that he didn't know who I was. An excuse? Maybe. But it broke my heart to see him that way, I wanted to remember him as my grandpa before the disease. I did go to see him two weeks ago, and it took everything in me to not run from the room in tears. I did manage to get his attention once, and as I looked into those same blue eyes that I did as a child, a small smile formed. It was then that I saw my grandpa, and that is the memory that I took with me when I left. One week after my visit, he went to be with Jesus. When I picture him now, he is whole again and reunited with his grandson, Nick.