My Grandpa Sam: 100 words or less

*Today, on Memorial Day, it has been exactly 9 years since we lost my Grandpa Sam to cancer.  I can barely believe those words, even as I type them.  Nine years, and yet some days it hurts like it was yesterday.  But, because the purpose of the blog is to “look for the good”, that’s what we will do.  My grandpa was not perfect, nor anywhere near it, but he had a lot of good in him.  Here’s my 100 words about him:

He always whistled…always.  He was a collector of junk, a garage-saler, and had a sweet tooth to rival anyone (I can never eat a Chips Ahoy without thinking of him).  He loved his country—he was in the Navy, he was a Police officer, and also worked for the Sheriff’s Department.  I miss his laugh, I miss the way he teased us, and I miss watching Iowa basketball with him.  I wish he was here to meet my boys (one of them his namesake), and yet I find comfort in knowing that we will see each other again someday.

..and there you have it. With one word left to spare!  I pray that all of you spend this Memorial Day remembering the ones you have loved and lost, and the ones who serve our country every single day.  I know that for us, we will be doing both.  Here’s to you, Gramps.

me and my Gramps, 1984