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nothing gold can stay...
..3/13/06..
r.i.p. grandpa - you will be missed
Monday afternoon I received an email from my dad down in VA that my grandfather had passed away that morning before they could get to the hospice to see him. The funeral is sometime today. They haven't told my brother and sister who have been home alone since Sunday.
As something of a tribute to him, I'm going to just write my thoughts and memories here since I wasnt able to attend the funeral... you don't have to read it.
He really was a great man. I did a report on him for 10th grade english. I should find it and re-read it. He grew up along the river in VA, went on to college and met his first wife. UPenn School of Business after. Well-traveled, intellegent. He played the drums in a jazz orchestra in Norfolk and his brother played the sax. He was a decorated WW2 veteran and kept his drums and uniform in the closet in the house. He was on Who's Who. He loved us all as his biological grandchildren. My brother was his "main man" and everytime we visited, my brother would get teasing from him about not having a girlfriend. He used to point out girls and say that he was going ask them to be my brother's girlfriend. Everytime we said bye, he would hug us and say "te quiero" (i care for you) into our ears. He used to go play poker on Tuesday's with his buddies from the condo-complex and he would tell us how much he'd won or lost. He would sneak around outside when to smoke we visited because my mom didnt like it so he always smelled of the cigs vaguely. Whenever we went to a restaurant he would order O'Doul's because it was non-alcoholic. When at the beach, he would walk to the store every morning to buy the newspaper and sit and read it cover to cover. He liked Lipton iced tea and because of him I took a liking to it as well. He watched the news with my grandmother at 6pm. He had this great straw hat that he wore whenever outside because of his skin. He was the person every hung onto when we went to haunted houses because he was never scared. He taught everyone how to play Hearts and we would have grand 6 person games in the afternoons at the beach. For every birthday any of us ever had, we could count on opening the card from them and find $10 from grandpa, without fail.
Over the past few months his health had been declining and he's been undergoing treatment for cancer. They gave him 8months to live if treatment was a success. When more tumors were found in his brain and liver, things looked bleak. He was going to stay in a hospice, but before he could he fell into a coma. Finally on Monday he passed away, presumably in his sleep. He will be sorely missed by everyone and well remembered.
My first reaction... shock. I didn't know what to think. I'm glad Jacob was around to come over and just sit and hug me for the 45 min I sat sobbing after the shock had passed. I sit don't quite know what to think about it. I've never had to deal with someone close to me passing away... ever. And here I'm at school, removed from my family trying to go to class... do my work... act normal and get through the days. And I haven't had the time to properly grieve for him. Last night was... bad. I went home for a few hours to spend time with my siblings. I didnt realize how stressful it was, knowing that they didn't know... and then i went to fencing and had a good workout. But after... I was just so tired. I'm overwhelmed by everything. 4 exams next week. Random spurts of shaky coldness and sadness... and then just numbness... I can't deal with everything being thrown at me...
My grandmother will be staying in the states for another year. She wants to see my graduate from UCONN. I'm almost honored by that choice. It's something I wish my grandfather could have seen happen.
I think I need to stop now....
Rest in Peace Grandpa. Te quiero....
r.i.p. grandpa - you will be missed
Monday afternoon I received an email from my dad down in VA that my grandfather had passed away that morning before they could get to the hospice to see him. The funeral is sometime today. They haven't told my brother and sister who have been home alone since Sunday.
As something of a tribute to him, I'm going to just write my thoughts and memories here since I wasnt able to attend the funeral... you don't have to read it.
He really was a great man. I did a report on him for 10th grade english. I should find it and re-read it. He grew up along the river in VA, went on to college and met his first wife. UPenn School of Business after. Well-traveled, intellegent. He played the drums in a jazz orchestra in Norfolk and his brother played the sax. He was a decorated WW2 veteran and kept his drums and uniform in the closet in the house. He was on Who's Who. He loved us all as his biological grandchildren. My brother was his "main man" and everytime we visited, my brother would get teasing from him about not having a girlfriend. He used to point out girls and say that he was going ask them to be my brother's girlfriend. Everytime we said bye, he would hug us and say "te quiero" (i care for you) into our ears. He used to go play poker on Tuesday's with his buddies from the condo-complex and he would tell us how much he'd won or lost. He would sneak around outside when to smoke we visited because my mom didnt like it so he always smelled of the cigs vaguely. Whenever we went to a restaurant he would order O'Doul's because it was non-alcoholic. When at the beach, he would walk to the store every morning to buy the newspaper and sit and read it cover to cover. He liked Lipton iced tea and because of him I took a liking to it as well. He watched the news with my grandmother at 6pm. He had this great straw hat that he wore whenever outside because of his skin. He was the person every hung onto when we went to haunted houses because he was never scared. He taught everyone how to play Hearts and we would have grand 6 person games in the afternoons at the beach. For every birthday any of us ever had, we could count on opening the card from them and find $10 from grandpa, without fail.
Over the past few months his health had been declining and he's been undergoing treatment for cancer. They gave him 8months to live if treatment was a success. When more tumors were found in his brain and liver, things looked bleak. He was going to stay in a hospice, but before he could he fell into a coma. Finally on Monday he passed away, presumably in his sleep. He will be sorely missed by everyone and well remembered.
My first reaction... shock. I didn't know what to think. I'm glad Jacob was around to come over and just sit and hug me for the 45 min I sat sobbing after the shock had passed. I sit don't quite know what to think about it. I've never had to deal with someone close to me passing away... ever. And here I'm at school, removed from my family trying to go to class... do my work... act normal and get through the days. And I haven't had the time to properly grieve for him. Last night was... bad. I went home for a few hours to spend time with my siblings. I didnt realize how stressful it was, knowing that they didn't know... and then i went to fencing and had a good workout. But after... I was just so tired. I'm overwhelmed by everything. 4 exams next week. Random spurts of shaky coldness and sadness... and then just numbness... I can't deal with everything being thrown at me...
My grandmother will be staying in the states for another year. She wants to see my graduate from UCONN. I'm almost honored by that choice. It's something I wish my grandfather could have seen happen.
I think I need to stop now....
Rest in Peace Grandpa. Te quiero....