Remembering a grandfather
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Nicole and her husband held a ceremony with her grandparents two weeks before their official wedding in Austin. Photo: Courtesy of Eunice Beck
Nicole here, with a story about a really great guy.
I lost my 95-year-old grandpa last week, on the same day as my other grandfather's 88th birthday, which I was celebrating in Colorado.
- Even at 95, it felt sudden. After a fall and brain bleed, he was gone within days. He was sharp, funny and full of life until the very end.
The big picture: I've been incredibly lucky to have had all four of my grandparents until now, so it's been tough to wrap my head around the fact that I can't just pick up the phone and call him anymore.
- We'd often talk for over an hour, and he never missed a chance to tell me how much he loved me.
Zoom in: I'm especially grateful I got to spend so much time with him this year, making frequent trips to Arizona to visit him and my grandma after she was diagnosed with glioblastoma in February.
- They were married for more than 62 years, and together they had a favorite saying: "Where would you rather be? Nowhere but here with you."
My favorite memory with my grandpa came last September, when my husband and I traveled to their home in Sonoita, Arizona, to hold a wedding ceremony for just the two of them.
- We knew travel would be really hard at their age, so we brought the celebration to them.
- Grandpa gave a speech, we cried, kissed, cut the cake, popped champagne and danced.
- "If all grandparents had this experience, I truly believe the world would be an infinitely better place," he told us during our ceremony.
The bottom line: It's a memory I treasure even more now, and one I'll return to whenever I miss him.
