Memorial Day

This Memorial Day weekend was very tender to say the least. Grandpa has had a rough few months and has moved in with the Holts. It has been hard to lose his independence, but I don't think he realized how lonely he was. He has been the absolute sweetest to Zane, and his spirit in the home is amazing. I learn all sorts of interesting things about him, his parents, and his dear wife, Mabel. 

He has made comments before questioning why he is still here, and a very selfish part of me keeps tugging at my sleeve saying, "For Zane! For Zane and your new baby! And for you! For you to learn about this family!" I would love if Grandpa could be here as long as possible, but I realize that he is growing old and tired. He is still lonely and longs for the companionship of his sweet wife, so I have to nudge that part of me away. 

For Memorial Day, we took Grandpa to go see the resting place of Mabel. It was a tender moment as he sat and looked at the graves, one for his wife, one for his infant daughter, Patty Jo, and several headstones for his departed siblings, parents, and grandparents. He recounted how the wife was actually supposed to be on the left side of the grave, and the husband on the right, but because Patty Jo was buried to the right of their plot, he put his wife beside her so that they could be together. 

He told us stories about his parents, his grandparents, his siblings, and his uncles. He recounted many stories that I had heard before, but somehow looking at their graves made these stories link up in a way that they hadn't before. 

Grandpa's parents. Grandpa told us that when Enid (his youngest sibling) was born, one morning his siblings all woke up and their parents were gone. Grandpa said that they were worried, but that they were also worried what their father would say if he came home and no one had started the chores! So they scrambled to get the chores done in case their father showed up. 

Their father eventually came home and told them that they had a new baby sister! Grandpa said she was the first baby in the entire family to be born in a hospital. 

Grandpa's older brother, Duane. 

Grandpa's older sister, Arleen. 

Grandpa's younger sister, Enid. She was the youngest and he was the second youngest. 

Grandpa's uncle, Clyde, and his wife, Connie. When Clyde and Connie were courting, Grandpa would deliver their love letters so that Clyde could herd sheep and do the farm work. Grandpa said that Clyde paid him well to not open the letters and to take them straight to Connie, who was a school teacher.

Clyde has a very interesting story that will one day become a movie, I'm sure of it. He became an engineer later in life (after his love letter, sheep herding days), and during a plane trip to Egypt for some structural work, the plane mysteriously "expired" and sank in the Mediterranean Ocean. No one knew if there were any survivors back home. Connie was left with their (ten?) children, unsure if she should hold a funeral or not. 12 days after the plane sank, a body washed up to shore that had severely deteriorated because of the salt water. They could only identify that it was Clyde because of the garments that were still intact on his body.