Today is a day. It's a day of three significant anniversaries.
The oldest anniversary is for my dad. Today is his birthday. He's celebrating 56 years today. He has been my dad more than half his life. He is a good dad and a good grandpa. We all love him lots. Even if we are all dorks and drive him a bit crazy. He's spending his birthday in school. He is getting close to finishing his bio-manufacturing program and trying to figure out what he wants to do when he grows up. My dad is a great role model and all around awesome person.
Happy Birthday, dad.
Two years ago today, was the funeral for my beloved Grandma. We were traveling home from a trip to Lake Tahoe when my dad called. I was driving through Battle Mountain, Nevada and Ross and Elliott were in the back seat watching a movie. I knew when the phone rang something was amiss. It was my dad on his cell phone. That's not a normal combination. He told me that grandma wasn't doing well, and that they didn't think she'd make it through the night. He wanted to wait until we got home, but he needed to tell me right then what was going on. He and his siblings were by her side.
I was heart broken and devastated. I cried the next several hours home. I was pregnant with Wyatt, a few days before had suffered a nasty bout of food poisoning and had just returned home for a pretty rough trip with Elliott - having taken him to the emergency room in Tahoe because of some nasty ear infections.
The next morning when I woke up to the sound of my cell phone I knew it was bad. Why else would my mom be calling me at 6:00 am. I bawled like a baby at the news of my grandma's passing. I called in sick to work. I got my act together, got Elliott up and ready and did the only thing that felt right...drove out to my mom and dads to spend the day. We hung out. We got lunch. We went to Kohl's to find funeral clothes. On the drive my dad told me that it was one of my grandma's requests to speak at her funeral. I'm still trying to swallow the lump that news left in my throat.
I asked if Haley, my sister could do it. She's better at public speaking. My dad said no, that it was a written request I give the life sketch for my grandma.
Such a responsibility. One I wasn't prepared for. I spent the next several days sitting at my computer in tears. I didn't know where to begin. I had no idea what to say. I prayed and prayed and prayed that my grandma would send me some inspiration. That she would tell me what words to use to honor her.
On the 8th of November, my dad's birthday, was my grandma's funeral. I was the first speaker. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done.
I love you, Grandma.
I was reminded by my husband this morning that today is the 8th anniversary of our engagement. We got engaged on my dad's birthday. I picked out my ring. I knew that it had arrived. I didn't know that Ross had gone to lunch with my dad to ask if it was okay to marry me. I also didn't know that he was coming to ask me on the day that he did.
I was at school, on my lunch. Every day at lunch Ross would call me. He did on this day, too. I had my back to the classroom door, was typing away on my computer and talking to him on the phone.
It got really hard to hear him. I heard my classroom door open and remember telling him on the phone, "Someone just came in, I'll have to call you back."
I turned around and that someone was Ross. He was grinning from ear to ear, had a gigantic bouquet of white lilies and walked over to me at my desk, got down on one knee, pulled out my ring and asked me to marry him.
I said yes.
The ring fit.
He gave me a kiss and then said, "Good. I love you. I have to go back to work now."
He left me alone in my darkened classroom at lunch time with a bunch of flowers and an engagement ring.
I took the rest of the day off.
1 comment:
Nice posting -- I like you hair in the picture!
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