Grandpa

Today I received a call from my mom, telling me that they took my grandpa to the ER because of something having to do with what they think to be his heart. He will be admitted shortly so they can monitor and see what the problem definitely is. You can imagine the helpless feeling I have being so far away, and I thought I'd share a little about my grandpa so you all can maybe feel a little closer to my grandpa whom you may or may not ever have met.

What comes to my mind when I think of Grandpa is a young-at-heart, barbershop-singing, family-loving, gentleman who loves to make people laugh. He loves my grandma so, and anyone who knows my Grandpa and Grandma knows that they are truly a "match made in Heaven." You don't get much of a sweeter couple than those two. Not once growing up do I remember there ever being hardship between the two. They are always lovin' and huggin' on each other, and when you are near them, you can't help but have a good time. You'll hear things like, "Hunny-Pot", and "Charlene"( this is a little bit of an inside joke with the family), and many other endearments.

My Grandpa is a retired Southern-Baptist preacher and sang in Barbershop quartets as a hobby. Still to this day, every time the family gets together he gathers all the guys around to sing a barbershop tag or two. (and sometimes, if the guys are not getting their parts, he'll pull in us girls to help too.) =)

The magic of my Grandpa has always been that he or my Grandma never seem to get older! Up until just recently, they have taken care of their garden(which my Grandma still continues to do), which is one of the most beautiful flower gardens I've ever seen, they'll just decide out of the blue to go on a fun little drive somewhere they've never been and discover a little city that no one knows about, and they exercise and just keep moving. They help every year at the polls as election judges, and so on. Their life has never been at a stand-still. My Grandpa means so much to my family and he has had such a unforgettable part in making my parents and now his grandchildren's homes what they are today.

He is so special to me in so many ways, and being the youngest of his grandchildren, I have had so many opportunities with him that I will never forget. I used to go to their house in the summer growing up, and they would always take me to places that most of you have never heard of, but to me are some of my greatest memories. I loved to hear my Grandpa preach. He has such a heart for people and has taught me so much about living the Christian life and living it to its fullest...

Surprisingly to all of us, recently time has started to catch up to Grandpa. He has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and it has affected his lungs, and is very painful to him. He has been put on a breathing machine pretty much full-time, but sometimes he "forgets" about it when he's at home. ;) Right now, he is doing well at the hospital, in stable condition, but we're just waiting to hear the news. They think maybe pneumonia could have set in, or maybe his medicine isn't working right, but whatever it is, they're doing the best to take care of Him.

Life is wonderful, family is wonderful, and I'm so thankful for all the people that God has placed in my life to make it SO wonderful. I guess I always knew when I was younger, that the day would come when my Grandparents would get older and things would change, but that time has come all too fast.. It's so hard to see life change, and the ones we love suffer, but I'm so thankful that my Grandpa has a better place than this world to look forward to, and someday we'll all be together again.

The situation today has made me think of him, and I felt like since I'm so far away, the only thing I could do to not go crazy was to write about him. I wanted to share a bit of my Grandpa's legacy with you all, because he deserves all the honor in the world. He's the best Grandpa in the world..

He's my Grandpa. He's my hero.