My grandfather went to Heaven on Saturday night, October 26th, in a nursing facility in a tiny town in East Texas. I had the privilege of being with him and my grandmother during his final hours. What a gift. I got to talk to him one last time about my garden and how grand his new garden will be in Heaven. I told him I was thankful to get to be his granddaughter and to save me a spot and a shovel because I’ll meet him there one day. He was not only my grandfather, he was my friend. When my family gathered to celebrate his life, we had an opportunity to share memories and the things we learned from him over the years. This was my short list...
* How to drive cars, trucks, tractors, and boats (and 3 on the tree)* How to haul a trailer without jackknifing it
* How to navigate a boat through underwater trees on Lake Fork
* How to saddle a horse
* How to hook a bass
* How to shoot a gun
* How to properly pull fruit from a tree
* To leave fruit on the tree as long as possible for maximum sweetness
* How to bush hog in a peach orchard and run over only 1 tree (sorry PawPaw, I never told you)
* To love airports and flying
* That God speaks and keeps his promises
* Not to walk on someone’s grass because they work hard to make it grow
* Not to drive behind trucks with stuff hanging out of the back
* That men open doors for women
* To put something back where I found it
* That hard work is the only kind
* Doing it the right way is the only way
* To do the right thing simply because it's the right thing to do
* To just try it
* Try again
* That I can do it
* A clove of garlic a day keeps the Dr away
* A bit of stubbornness always helps
* If I don’t want to participate in a conversation, then act like I can’t hear it
* Let my yes be yes and my no be no
* The Dallas Cowboys is America's team
* How to collect an antique or two
* To always be growing a garden (especially onions)
* A sense of humor is essential
* To be generous with my resources
* Heaven is real. He was eager to get there.
See you again one day, PawPaw.
