He is not in anymore pain......

So I got a phone call last night around 11:00pm. We had taken our cordless phone in our room for some reason....we NEVER do. I can't even remember one time. My sister Rachel called me and told me that my grandpa had passed away around 10:15 pm. I am so sad about it. I know that he is old and has lived a long life, but it still breaks my heart. This is the last picture I have with him and I had just had Conner and totally debated on going to our family reunion. Conner was only 2 months old (yes he is huge)!

This is the only grandpa I have ever known. My grandma had been married twice before. Her first husband the father of all 10 kids passed away when my mom was 18 years old. That was very hard for them all and I can't imagine how my grandma survived. She is such a strong wonderful woman. She remarried later on and her husband had a stroke and later passed away. Then she met Grandpa Charlie. She married him in April 1981. I was born in 1980 so he is the only one I have ever known. He always had a voiceterous opinion almost about everything! There are a lot of people that have a hard time with him. I am probably just as stubborn and could fight right back with him, even at a young age. I am not sure how old I was but he ALWAYS told the story of me calling him a Nerd when I was really little. And that stuck forever and ever. That was our thing.

Before he got really sick they lived in Elephant Butte, New Mexico. They would travel through Thatcher while making trips to Mesa. They seemed to always come when there was something wrong with me. You know the rare occasions when I get Kidney stones! Yes, I believe it was 1 or 2 visits when I had them. He would just sit there and tell me how sorry he was that I was in pain. Then he would tell everyone about it. They used to be able to come through 2-3 times a year. It was always fun to just have one on one with them.

My grandma has been taking care of him for years and years. Even before he got really sick she was at his beck and call. He was VERY spoiled by her. She has been a good wife to him. I am very sad for her because I am not sure that she will know how to just take care of herself. He is in a better place and not in anymore pain. That is very comforting to me.

It is just like anything that happens you wish you would have done more and been able to see them more. I am very glad that I took the time last week to go and see him. I took my camera but that is not how I wanted to remember him, I did not take any pictures. Watching my grandma with him made me so sad. I know this is really hard on her, I just wish I could take it all away for her.

A few weeks ago Covin went to Springerville with Nikki to visit and go to the races. My grandparents have been living with my parents for a few weeks now. Covin was able to visit with them a little bit. They must have made an impression on him because he talked about them a lot. He was really sad and crying that he couldn't go into the hospital to see him when I went. And almost everyday since he has asked me if my grandpa was still sick and in the hospital. I would tell him yes and he would get sad and keep asking me why. I would just tell him that he is still very sick. I didn't tell him before school because I think he will cry. He has such a soft heart.

Sorry this is so all over the place but it is mostly for me. I loved my grandpa very much. He might have been a Nerd BUT he was my NERD!