Granddaddy and smiles

Jason's Grandaddy Harry died unexpectedly on Monday. It has been such a hard week for our family, especially Jason. In all my time knowing Jason, I have never seen him this sad. It hurts me terribly to see him in so much pain.

Granddaddy was full of life and was always a joy to be around. We have many fond memories of him in Alabama at the beach, in Chicago & Lake Geneva, and visiting Arizona to see the Grand Canyon with the kids. Grandma and Granddaddy have been married for 58 years. That is incredible to me in this day and age! I hope to spend that many years happily married to Jason. Kaylie and Kendal share his love for the outdoors, and Kendal will carry on his love for fishing. He will be sorely missed.

Sadly, when you lose someone close to you, life has to go on. I have been saddened deeply, but really have tried to appreciate all of the things that have made me smile this week, such as:

*Seeing my husbands's sweet sensitive side towards his family and his desire to be there for his mom.

*My girls getting along, and having Kaylie think things that Kendal does are actually cute.

*Kendal telling the little boy in her class that if he really loves her, then he has to stare at her all day long...she claims he did stare at her all day long, and wrote her a note that said she is pretty! UH-OH, we are in trouble!

*Hearing adults that worked with Kaylie at our school carnival rant and rave about how great she is!

*Having my kindergarteners worried about me because I had a cut on my leg (they had a front row view while sitting in front of me on the rug!). I cut myself shaving, but I told them I fell off my bike and crashed! They actually believed me!

*Having Kendal try to speak to me in Japanese after learning a few words from her menu at Benihana.

*Receiving Kaylie's AIM's test results from last year and seeing how smart she is! Here's hoping for a scholarship.

*Having an aide/friend at work who is so easy to talk to, knows exactly what to say to make me feel better, and drops by with beautiful tulips. She is priceless!

*Enjoying this beautiful weather. The girls and I ate dinner on the patio tonight and the weather is just gorgeous.

In the midst of sadness, it is so good to remember what is so good in life and makes us smile. None of the things that make me truly happy inside involve money or material things, it is really the small things in life and the memories made that mean the most...