Goodbyes

I don't like goodbyes.  My Grandpa Hair was truly an amazing man.  He will forever be missed.  I have a few memories that are my favorites of him and I'll hold them dear to my heart till I get to see him again.  Saying goodbye was so unexpected.  It had me thinking that I shouldn't have taken the time I had for granted.  The greatest blessing for me is knowing that he truly cared and loved me.  The last time I saw him he shuffled to the door to welcome me in and gave me a hug.  We sat and talked about his concerns for his grandchildren in an ever increasing dark world.  I consider myself blessed to be one of them.  He was concerned for me which was evidence of his love.  He was such an amazing example to me of devotion to the Lord and to his wife.  He was with my Grandmother always, they seemed attached at the hip.  Since his funeral I've thought of my grandmother a lot and how she must feel to be without him.  When you have that kind of love it's hard to be separated...if only for a time.  

He played the piano so beautifully until the day he died.  The music he played still rings in my ears every time I think of him.  He had a gift for calming everyone's soul with music.  My favorite thing was to ask him to play a random piece of music.  It was as if his fingers had memory of every song he had ever played because he seemed to never need a book. 

He had a smile that could light up a room.  I don't think I ever saw him unhappy or heard him say and unkind word.  Oh how I miss him!  

I didn't think for a moment about missing his funeral.  I felt like I needed to be there, if only for my Mom.  I knew that losing her Dad would be hard.  I was so glad I got to be there and celebrate Grandpa with my family.  I was grateful I got to hear my Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol speak about their memories of him and grateful I got to hear a powerful testimony of the Savior given by Uncle Moroni.  The spirit in the room was so strong.  I wept as I listened to my cousin Jared play "Clair de Lune" just as Grandpa would have played it.  When I closed my eyes it was almost as if he was the one playing. 

I hope that years to come I can share my memories of grandpa with Audrey and she can still learn from his sweet example of devotion and love.  

Till we meet again Grandpa!  Sending our love to heaven!