My Grandpa

I have always loved coming to my grandparents' home in the tiny town of Monticello Utah. A large part of that are my wonderful grandparents. Well, them and the 'candy cupboard'. Today I am in Monticello again, sitting in my grandpa's office surrounded by two or three desks cluttered with envelopes, invoices, computers, checkbooks, and piles of papers. I can see him sitting in this very office working on all the paperwork for his cattle operation. In fact, everywhere I go in this house there are memories of my grandpa. In the kitchen I can remember him from when I was a child, getting out his recycled milk jug of frozen water as he headed off for a day of hard labor on the ranch. When I smell the wood burning stove I remember him chopping wood in the garage and countless trips from the garage to the house with arms full of wood. I can picture him at the kitchen table playing barnyard rummy with a handful of grandchildren, games that he regularly won because he never played favorites or let anyone win at cards. I can imagine him in his recliner in the family room, flipping channels on the TV until he found the weather channel or a news channel to fall asleep to. Outside there are handfuls of memories of riding horses, learning about different plants and flowers, and piling into the back of his pick-up to go for a ride. I can still hear him on a Sunday morning as he walked down the hall dressed in his suit and tie as I asked, "Where are you going Grandpa?" and without fail his answer was "Crazy. Wanna come?" Not that long ago he sat in the red chair in the living room and told the unbelievably romantic story of how he carved his and grandma's initials on the mountain side by knocking down hundreds of trees. But my favorite memory usually took place in the dining room, just moments after I entered through the side door. He would always get up to come hug and kiss me and welcome me into his home. That was my favorite moment of being here. And it was the lack of that moment this weekend, when I arrived and he wasn't there with his ready kiss and warm hug, that broke my heart. My grandpa passed away a week ago and I miss him so much, and I always will. So I will hold on tightly to all the memories I have of him and to the knowledge that I was his "Favorite Granddaughter" (just like all the others!)

I love you Grandpa!!