This post is for my in-laws. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to share about the family members who we’ve lost and the impact they’ve had on our lives, and since we’ve just lost another it seems like a good time to talk about them all a bit. They have helped make us who we are today.

We’ve been very fortunate to know all of our grandparents well in this lifetime. I’ve even been fortunate to know and remember many of my great-grandparents. But the downside to knowing them, is that we also have to experience the loss of a grandparent from time to time.

These last couple of weeks we’ve been preparing to say goodbye to Brett’s Grandpa Earl. We said goodbye to his Grandma Jan a few years ago, a result of cancer, and Earl lost the battle with “the big C” this week as well.  Dying of cancer is a long, difficult process that’s only slightly (ever so slightly) easier when it’s a person who’s lived a long full life…

My Grandma Nancy had the “good fortune” to have a massive stroke several years ago. I say “good” fortune, because she always said she knew where she’d end up, and she started saying in the last few years of her life that she was “ready to go anytime the good Lord was ready to take her”. But we still miss her every single day.

I’m not the type to talk to her on social media, visit her grave to talk to her, or commemorate the day of her death. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with any of those things, they’ve just never been “comfortable” for me. I am, however, sometimes struck by a moment or situation, reminded of one of them, and then completely lose my composure… usually in public.

About a month ago when weeding out pictures on my computer. I was going through some old pictures and I came across what must be the last picture taken of my Grandma and I before her passing. I never really considered that I might look like her. And now I’ll be forever grateful that I can look in the mirror and be reminded of her. Neither of us knew this picture was being taken.

And I know Brett will be reminded of his Grandpa Earl and Grandma Jan when he looks in the mirror. There’s no questioning the resemblance to his Mom’s side of the family!

Brett says there are a couple of things that will forever make him think of his Grandma. Trying to remember someone’s birthdate. He can’t even remember his own, but she knew the birthdate of every one of her five sons and three daughters and their spouses, as well as her 20 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Every time he pays his tax on his trailer, to the county, he’ll think of her. She worked for the appraisers office many, many years and always called Brett to make sure he paid his property tax.

Since I’m not as comfortable sharing the details of Earl or Jan’s life, as I would be the details of my own Grandmother’s, I’ll leave you with this… the things I know, and will miss/remember about Earl:

• He was tough, you have to be when you’ve fought in a war.
• He was tough, you have to be when you’ve spent years battling various cancers.
• When you asked him where he came from (like his ancestry) he’d say Southern Missouri. That was home.
• He loved tinkering with motors and working on carpentry projects. And his love of woodworking was something we could always talk about. I’d share pictures when we visited, and he looked forward to seeing what I was working on.
• His face always lit up whenever Brett would bring up a vehicle project. In fact, just last week in the hospital we told him about a recent project and despite the pain he still smiled big and asked questions about the project.
• He loved his family. And we will all miss him very much. Just as we miss Jan, and Nancy every day.

We’ll say goodbye to him for good this Saturday at his service. Keep Brett, his Mom and the extended family in your prayers if you would. Thanks!