I miss you

I miss hearing you "play" your trombone.

I miss seeing you squish peanut butter and jelly up in milk and eat it with a spoon.

I miss playing Quiddler and waiting FOREVER while you chose just the right word :)

I miss hearing you call grandma "honey-pot"

I miss hearing you play your guitar all of the time.

I miss hearing you try to teach the boys how to sing "When it's Sleepy-Time down south."

I miss looking at your garden with you, and discussing all of the different plants and what your future plans were with the garden.

I miss sharing my favorite peppermints that you always had handy with you.

I miss the trip I took with you, Grandma, Aunt Gee, and Allison, in which you and I were in the back seat laughing and annoying Grandma with asking if we could stop every 30 minutes :)

I miss your Santa hat at Christmas.

I miss your barbershop songs that we would always sing together at the piano.

I miss you giving us a personal tour ~every year~  of your unbelievable Dickens Village that you collected and set up every year.

I miss hearing you pray.

I miss hearing you preach.

I miss sitting in the kitchen with you while you cooked me eggs and toast in the morning - and they had to be perfect ;)

I miss meeting you and Grandma for coffee and toast in the morning.

I miss the celebration dinner you and Grandma had for me when I got my license.

I miss the way that although you had many grandchildren, you always knew how to make all of us individually
feel so special and loved.

I thank you for your sacrifice for our country.

I thank you for leaving such a great heritage for your grandchildren and great grandchildren and so on...

I thank you for loving your wife, and being such an example to us.

I thank you for your love for the Lord.

I thank you for your advice, correction, and investment in us.

I thank you for your love to us.

How is that time has so mindlessly sped to where I am now? When did I stop being the little girl that would climb up on your lap and want to strum on your guitar while you played the correct chords to make me think that I was actually the one making those good tones on the guitar? When did I grow to be a wife and a mom and leave childhood behind me? How is it possible that time has gone this fast and I look now and realize you're gone?

It's still hard to believe, especially when I walk into your house, that you're gone.
You were so young at heart and such a fun and loving person to be around.

But then it seemed that time caught up with us all. I realized for the first time ever that you were actually getting older and things were changing. I realized that I had better get in as many hugs and conversations, and songs I could now, and I did. I really did. And then you were gone.

I miss you, Grandpa. Sometimes it's extremely painful and one of those nights is tonight. I'm watching basketball in Kansas and remember various conversations about Bill Self and what a good team KU is but how your first pick to win would be Illinois. I remember a few days before you died, you telling me to tell Chris to still cheer for KU and talking yet again about Bill Self being your favorite coach.

Time goes too fast, that's for sure.

I'm so thankful I will see you again, Grandpa .... until then I have a pretty big supply of memories that I borrow from everyday and save the special stash for nights like this when I miss you so very very much.