PENSIVE! I settled on some treasures that would be a perfect Father's day gift for my Daddy, I won't tell you what they are, in case he might read this. I remember when I was little, and even now, when my family treks down to Arkansas to visit my mom's parents, we stop at several antique shops & malls along the side of the interstate. My parents are suckers for cool artifacts that have beautiful character & history.
One of the coolest antique places I have ever been in my life would be Grandpa's basement. This isn't some store in the side of the road, it's not even a store, it's my Grandpa's collection of antiques all stored & displayed in the basement of his house. We would beg as little girls to go down there to look at all of the things in the "room." Grandpa's house was always full of new, old things for us to marvel at. The shed was full of things, as well. My brother thought he was a star of American Pickers & would gather things from the old pig barn & bring them up to the house to show us. Grandpa would go to more auctions & sells than anyone else I know. I can't tell you how much money he would spend on things, some things would be the most pointless, some would be pretty awesome, but he would buy it, big or small, then Thad would have to go get it from the sell tent. My brother's favorite sell story is when there were two cowboy dressed mannequins at a sell, one boy & one girl, which Thad saw, & specifically told Grandpa not to buy. But when the item rolled around Grandpa's number was thrown up for a bid for the boy. Thad had to go get it from the tent, brought it back, & Grandpa said, "Now go get the other." I can only imagine how far back Thad rolled his eyes as he turned to go get the other mannequin.
My summer started off rocky with Grandpa passing away & going to his heavenly home the day after my sister & cousin's college graduation. Waking up to that phone call from my dad was one of the hardest things to do. My sister Jordan runs over, literally runs, over to where I am at in town. I ask why she ran, & she replied, "You can't cry when you're running." Together we stood & held each other in the middle of the street as we cried.
As the week went on, the family all gathered out on the family farm to look through all photographs, share funny stories of Grandpa & memories with him. We had such an outreach from the community, neighbors, friends, & our church family. They also shared stories for Grandpa & the love he had shown to them. Grandpa was a remarkable man. He was the grouchiest at most times, but he also was the most fun when he would play kickball in the back yard with us.
At the funeral, us grandkids got up to sing a song, most of us couldn't make it through it, I blame Taylor for being the first to crack, & when you have a group of sympathetic criers, the rest were soon to follow. Myself a& a few of my cousins & siblings got up to share memories about Grandpa with the large group gathered to remember him. I read writings from my two younger sisters who shared stories of laughter & joy at Grandpa's house. My brother spoke about the time Grandpa sat on Maddie's lap at Thanksgiving. My sister, Jordan, spoke about how Grandpa loved the farm. I talked about how Grandpa had great taste in the dresses he bought us, the ones we picked out for ourselves. Grandpa bought all of us granddaughters, and daughters-in-law, & his two own daughters one last dress the month of his passing. We all take pride in Grandpa's purchases & joke about his fabulous style.
Grandpa was my favorite antique. Grandpa had more character, & stories than any other antique I've seen. He's gotten in trouble & been the hero. He had more life experiences & even more hardship than most antiques go through. He wasn't the type of antique you could just stick on a shelf, he had to be used. Though he used to be one of the strongest men I knew, I watched as he grew older, sicker, more frail. I blessed to be his farm boy, to be his helper, to sit by him every Sunday morning in church. Grandpa always brought up my health more than his own. He would whisper sarcastic remarks in my ear as church services would go on, & would sing through anything. He always lead the family in prayer when we'd go out to eat. Thought us, our whole family, to love the Lord.
Tomorrow will mark the one month time period of his passing. Everyday I see my Grandpa Dress hanging in my closet, and Grandma's necklace sitting on my dresser. I'm reminded of how blessed I am to have had such beautiful grandparents. I was lucky, I am lucky, I will continue to be blessed with my Grammy & Pawpaw, & Great-Grandmother in Arkansas.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
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| Fly high, Grandpa. I love you. |
Peace & love.
B.
