Grandpa

Dear Grandpa,

I'm so glad you had a chance to meet Laura this December.  It was so important to me to make that trip up to Vermont, despite the crazy weather.  I can't tell you how much it meant for me to see Laura with her great-grandfather.  You were such a wonderful Grandpa for me - the only one I ever knew.  Laura won't remember meeting you, but I will.  I will always cherish that last visit. 

I remember you "trapping" me on your lap when I was a toddler, and never letting me go.  I laughed till I cried every time you did it. 

I remember visiting you and Grandma in Wallkill, where I got to drink grape juice which was never allowed at home.  I still love purple grape juice, and am sad it's not longer sold in that glass bottle.

I remember eating "wait-and-see" every night for dessert.  For the longest time, I thought that was an actual dessert, something one could order at a bakery.  I think it was usually pie and ice cream, but it was always delicious.

I remember the smell of your studio, when I went out to watch you paint.  The pungent oils made my eyes water while I stared, mesmerized, at your works.  You were always so patient at explaining how you painted, why you painted, and what you painted.

I remember going out to Wyoming to celebrate your fifty years of marriage with Grandma.  Fifty years.  It was a big number to me back then - and is still such a big number now.

Just yesterday, I was thinking about how you and Grandma came to be married.  So in love, you defied your parents wishes and eloped nearly seventy-one years ago.  Amazing, that just yesterday I was reflecting on your seventy-one years of love.

I will miss you and Grandma, but am happy knowing you are together again.