My grandpa

This picture was taken a few years ago when my grandpa went on a flight in a WWI era airplane that a man in town generously used to take up WWII veterans.

My grandpa had a blast.

He’s technically my step-grandpa, as he married my grandmother several years before I was born.

That never stopped him from loving all of her children and grandchildren as his own.

He took us waterskiing and tubing behind his speedboat at his cottage on the lake.

He used to bring my grandma flowers every week until she passed. He is THAT kind of man.

He loved my grandmother with every ounce of his soul, and he hasn’t been the same since he lost her.

He is a veteran, as I said of WWII, and proud of his service, but never boastful and never one to talk much of his experience.

He is 97 years old and has seen many changes throughout his life. He has many grandchildren and great grandchildren and they all bring a light to his eyes.

Today, he will be entering hospice and the final phase of his life.

I grieve the loss of this giant of a man in my life, even before he is gone.

I know I will see him again in heaven someday, and he will be with my grandma soon.

I just can’t help but feel what a tremendous loss we are all experiencing moment by moment as he slips away.