We'll Meet Again

At the beginning of May my Grandpa (mom's dad) passed away and my first emotion wasn't sadness but more regret. 

Regret because I had been trying to call him for the past month but for multiple reasons I was never able to talk to him.
Regret because I wanted to know more about him. 

He had a distinctive laugh.

He loved to fish and golf.

He was in the military and served in the Korean and Vietnam war. 

He loved to travel. 

This picture was taken during our family reunion trip in 2015 and also the last time I saw him.

It does have a funny story though. See how I am by far the youngest in that picture? Besides my Grandpa, all those other boys are my first cousins. Kinda crazy right? This picture was for all the first generation of grandkids (no great-grandkids). Someone told me to get out of the picture because they thought I was a great-grandkid. Nope. But let's be real, I only a couple of years older than some of my cousins' kids so I look like I am one of the great-grandkids. You can see how that mistake is made. 

Then at the end of May my Grandpa (dad's dad) passed away. At the beginning of this year I knew it was going to be his last. 
I thought he would leave in June, my guess was off by 3 days. 

He always read us the "Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve. 

You would always see him with a book in his hand and more by his chair.

Growing up we went to the library a lot. I think I got my love for books from him. 

He graduated high school as valedictorian at age 16 and got a masters in math and physics

 (a trait that I did not inherit). 

This was the last time I saw him and I wanted a picture. So glad I got it. 

I am so grateful for both of my Grandpa's. I often think of life and death. While we live on this earth we will not be known by large quantities of people who want our autograph. Instead we will be known by smaller numbers who want our time. 

I know that both of my grandparents' gave their time to make my life better. 

They gave their time to raise a family. They gave their time to make this country better. 

I love them so much and I'll miss them. They've been around my entire life so life without them will be different.