Blessed

Dear Caroline,

The more I think of you, the more things continue to pop into my mind. The hardest thing for me is the fact that you missed out on knowing the single most important person in my life.

I had an amazing childhood. I had supportive parents. My mom stayed home. I had a lot of exposure to some amazing experiences. But the single best thing in my life was my grandparents. We were so lucky that they lived next door. My grandfather especially was the perfect Granddaddy. He took me fishing. He let us stay up super late. He made the best pecan pancakes. He treated me like a princess. He loved me more than words can describe and I love him to the moon and back. There are days that I think about him all day and everyday. We were so fortunate to have been blessed with him for as long as we were. He died almost three years ago, and I still expect him to be around. I miss watching Braves games with him. I miss his voice. I miss how we would hold hands and eat popcorn. Lately missing him has become more acute. We moved into my grandparent’s home for now. I always expect to see him here. It is both a blessing and a sadness to be here.

I have always thought of heaven as outside of time. I think of heaven as where your soul is before you’re born and after you die. It is my sincerest hope that you are enjoying your time there and that you get to meet and love my Granddaddy. I hope that heaven has ponds and he takes you fishing. I hope he gets to make you the best pecan pancakes. I hope you get to see his love of baseball. Make sure you get lots of kisses. He gives the best ones. Soak it up. Nothing makes me sadder in such a profound way as knowing you will miss out on knowing him in your life here. I hope that you have a grandparent that shapes you the way mine did. Hopefully you will be as blessed as I was.

Love always