Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

In the eyes of my Grandpa, I was likely born too early. He was just two days shy of his 60th birthday when I arrived in the world. Grandpa and I would share the next 35 birthdays before his passing on to Glory in 1999.

When I was small, I was pretty sure that grandpas didn't pay attention to things like the birthdays of little girls. Surely he didn't remember that my special day was so near to his own. It hardly mattered that we often shared a birthday dinner with cake, ice cream and gifts to follow. In retrospect, I think little girls probably don't pay much attention to the birthdays of grandparents.

As I grew older my grandpa's birthday became more and more of a treasure, as did Grandpa himself. I began to realize that our shared birthdays were numbered. When Grandpa turned 82 my cousins rented a banquet hall and we had a celebration. This was repeated again at an even fancier party house 8 years later on Grandpa's 90th birthday. In 1999, when Grandpa turned 95 my secret fear became a reality. My cousins again threw him a birthday party, this time at one of their homes. I wasn't able to be there, but was instead in Louisiana visiting my husband who was away on a job. Deep inside I knew it would be our last shared birthday, but this time we were not together.

That June Grandpa was ill and taken to the hospital where he suffered a massive heart attack. When he regained consciousness, we gathered at the hospital hopeful for a chance to visit with him and show our love. As I stood beside his bed he looked up at me and said, "Oh, there you are!" He wrapped his arms around me and as I received that last hug, I also took in a last breath of that sweet Grandpa smell. I held his hand but I hardly knew what to say, instead the tears wanted to flow. I thought of all the times he called us "little rascals", all the family picnics and holiday gatherings. I thought of how that hug felt just like all the others he had given me through the years.

He went to be with Jesus that night and there are still times when I miss him terribly. Funny thing that a child should grow up totally missing the fact that there was something special about her in the eyes of her Grandpa. I really never knew until that final night. "And Grandpa, you told me not to go too far... Don't worry, I'm not too far behind."