Reflections

My grandpa and me.

So I missed the first meeting of a writing group I'm joining. (I know, I know some of you are rolling your eyes and thinking "what is she doing adding another thing to her 'to do list'". I missed it for a good reason- my Grandpa passed away. He was 91 and lived a very full life, so I was not sad or grieving over the loss of him,but I was and am sad about the loss of all that he symbolized and stood for: Virginia, family,childhood, vacations, and life.

My dad moved to Illinois right out of college and worked his whole life as an engineer for a corporation that had a plant in a suburb of Chicago. Despite living in Illinois he traveled, then my mom and he, add me and finally add my sister traveled to Virginia many times over the years (at least twice/year until I was in highschool). When I became a college student, then adult, then wife, and then mom I still traveled to visit my grandparents and dad's family.

This traveling and time with my extended family has made me very much whom I am today- love to tell and hear stories, love to travel, and love to be with family (just to name a few).

So I missed writing group, but I wrote anyways. I wrote and read the following at my grandfather's funeral on Monday.

"Many of you know my grandpa Carbaugh and know about his love for family, trains, and baseball. However, many of you might not know how very tender hearted he was. He had a true love for his family, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The first time I ever saw my dad cry happened to be the first time I saw my grandma and Grandpa cry. Men crying has always made a strong impression on me. My dad and grandpa were letting their whole selves be seen. They were crying because we were leaving the farm.

This event has occurred many times throughout my 37 years of life. I too have shared in these tears. I am forever grateful for my grandfather and grandmother installing the love of family and farm life in my father. My father and mother then instilled in us (my sister and I) this same importance of family and 'farm life'. My sister and I have brought our children along for the ride and they know the importance of family and traveling together. Despite our distance we have traveled with our children 'to the farm' several times.

Thank you grandpa for giving me such a great childhood of memories. My sister and I will never forget the sound of gravel on the farm lane as we pulled into the farm or the tears that were shed when departing the farm.

I'm certain grandpa and grandma will never forget the sound either and hope they are enjoying their travels in heaven- visiting and reliving all the good memories".

These are my reflections. This is my writing.

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