Remembering Grandpa

I have a lot of grandpas. And out of all of my grandpas, Grandpa Jones was the one I knew the best - and with no offense to all my others - he was probably my favorite. And I had the joy and privilege of living with him for quite a few years of my life, and although I don't remember much from when I lived with him as a kid, in the past few years I got to know and appreciate him even more.

Grandpa was so selfless and giving of what he had. From putting up with our family of 7 in his condo, or planting a tree for each grandchild in the front yard, to sending all the girl cousins out on a shopping spree - regardless of the cost, he just wanted to make sure we had fun - to paying for all of us to come visit them in Florida, to buying us kids computers, and putting together my furniture and fixing the dining room table for a caregroup event - which meant flipping the whole thing upside down. I never heard a single complaint. Never did I hear him raise his voice, or angry - he was such a happy old man who loved his family and doing things around the house and building his retaining wall out back, or just riding around the yard on his lawn mower. He was steady and hardworking. Even when he got to the point of having to stop and take a break from his work every few minutes and sit down, he kept at it until the job was done. I miss just sitting inside the house and watching him work meticulously on his retaining wall, or come home to see him just driving his beloved lawn mower around the yard (that he wouldn't let me drive).

It wasn't until I was older that I understood how hilarious Grandpa was. Whether it was a completely random email about our old cat Spats, which he renamed Tom, or signing an email with a Get Smart quote, or hanging a note on the thermostat the day after my parents moved out that said, "touch the thermostat and you die. granpa", or walking into the family room to find all the cousins dancing the cha cha slide and joining right in, or suddenly jumping into a conversation with a joke or comment out of the blue - he always left us laughing. If you ever want a glimpse into what Grandpa was like, sit in on a family conversation sometime, they very quickly dissolve into making the world a better place with luxury porta potties or some insane gagdet or plan to make life easier.

I love how Grandpa loved Grandma. He was not always emotionally expressive - at least around me - but I could always tell just from the way he looked at her that he adored her. He would tell me that she was quite a catch and how pretty she is. I remember one time holding up a camera to take a picture of them when they weren't expecting it, and he saw me and put his arm around Grandma and smiled with this look on his face that said, "this here is my woman!" He was so proud of his wife, and so are we all. Grandma, I want to give honor where honor is due, you are a woman of God, the family stronghold, always pointing us back to the Lord, and we respect and love you dearly. Your faithfulness to God and your family was reaped in Grandpa's life and continues to show in the lives of us kids. You will have much reward in heaven. You are one of my heroes, and I want to be like you when I grow up.