Grandpa Don

Today marked the 4 year anniversary of my grandpa Don's death. There are people that are in your life that mean so much to you, and he was this to me! He was truly one of the most important person to me. He had the strength of a superhero, and the heart of an angel. He truly was a hero in so many people's lives. He was a fireman, an EMT, a father, husband, brother and grandpa just to name a few. My grandpa was a kind, gentle, loving man, and I think of him everyday. I still remember the night before he died, I got to talk to him on the phone. He was not speaking at the time, but I remember talking to him and I heard him make a noise.... I knew he heard me talking to him. I will never forget that moment. We lost him the next day, and I was devastated, along with everyone else in the family. My grandpa and I had a special connection, nothing different than what he had with all of the other grandchildren, you see that is what made him so special, he had a special connection with each and every one of his grandchildren. He made you feel so special.

Many people may not know, but he was considered my "step-grandpa". He married my grandma when my dad and his siblings were all grown adults. I love and will always consider my grandpa Hevner my grandpa as well (my dads real dad, who died when I was a baby), but my Grandpa Don was my grandpa also from day 1. Not only did my grandpa Don marry my grandma, he also got 3 step-children along with it. My grandma had two boys and a girl, and my grandpa Don had three daughters, both from their previous marriages. These two families eventually became one, and both my grandma and grandpa (Don) considered each others children as their own. What my point is, my Grandpa considered my dad just as much as his son as his own children. He never made us feel like we were only "step-grandchildren" considering he was there for most of our births. He never treated any of his grandchildren differently. He was just amazing. There are so many other words to describe my Grandpa, but amazing sums him up!

I am thinking of him today and the impact he had on so many people's lives. I feel that I did not get to grieve the loss of my grandpa because my mom died only 5 months later. I was still grieving him when I had to start grieving my moms death. I lost two of the most important people in my life in less than half a year....2006 will forever be the worst and hardest year of my life.

Today has been hard. I got to focus my sadness and loss of my grandpa and it hit me hard. I will never forget him and impact he had on my life. I love you Grandpa Don, thank you for being so special to me and always letting me know how loved I was.

Tomorrow my family and I will be doing a 5K in honor of my Mom and Grandpa. It is the Myeloma 5k ( the type of cancer my mom had) but it it also a walk to cure all cancers. My grandpa died of cancer also....I hate that C word!!!!!!!!

I will be walking and thinking of both my Mom and Grandpa tomorrow. They both have changed my life more than I think they ever knew!!!

Tomorrow is for them, and I will be walking proud knowing I had two of the most amazing people in my life!!!