my grandpa. . .

You are the one that everyone always leaned on,
The only man in a family full of women
You are quiet and calm
You taught me how to drive and you didn’t panic when I almost put us in a ditch (more than once).
You faced many obstacles in your life; you became a widower very young.
You loved unconditionally, and never gave up.
You showed your love in so many ways
I remember good things about you Grandpa. Lots of good things. . .
Witty and sweet, always giving good hugs
You had hard candy in your pockets to share at all times.
You stayed through my entire band and choir concerts all through school. Whether it was torture or not, you would hug me proudly afterwards.
You were there to see me graduate from High School. You were there in spirit when I graduated from college. I know you wanted to be there.
You made sure you were there to check out the "new guy" I started dating for Thanksgiving a few years ago. I am glad that you approved of him.
You gave your dogs funny names like Timex the watchdog, and you had a pet monkey a long time ago. I am sure that you have lots of secrets that no one really knows.
You made it on the 20 mile bike ride, like a man half your age, I kept asking you if you were ready to turn around, but you wanted to finish to the end. That was a good day I spent with you.
You helped with the dishes at the Senior Center and took people their meals. You never complained about helping in the kitchen, you just worked hard and got it done. How wonderful that you got to see your daughter all the time and she was able to cook for you. I know it meant so much to my mom.
You got to hold generations of babies and live to be a great grandpa to lots of children.
You will forever to be in my heart and I know that you will always be smiling at me with your ornery grin.
I hope it was a good life for you, Grandpa. I hope that you lived without regrets. You are so loved.
I will miss you.
I am sorry I didn't get to sing "Happy Birthday" to you today.

snow storm

So, I am driving back to Pittsburgh yesterday after spending the weekend in Ohio, and the sky and roads are completely clear. To my wandering eyes appear, a snow storm, all of the sudden, oh dear. Yes, and it was horrible. I was stuck on the side of a hill for an hour, and there was a guy in a white car that came down the hill and smacked into the back of my vehicle and passed me in the ditch on the right and kept going! Yes, another hit and run friends. It is true. I started thinking, "Why me?" Then I realized that I was not the only one stuck on that hill, there were dozens of us stranded.
SO I REALLY HATE DRIVING IN THE WINTER. REALLY HATE IT. And I figured that maybe this was some sort of sign, like, if you can get through this night, you can do anything. A two hour drive took me four and a half hours. White knuckling, praying, hot flash sweating, no radio, slipping and sliding through West by god Virginia and through some hilly parts of Route 30 in Pennsylvania. The snow followed me all the way home!
Torture for me. I had no one else to take the wheel and if I didn't force myself to drive, I would not get to my destination. I pulled over several times, feeling like I just wanted to give up. I thought I would just wait until the snow stopped, or something. Once I glanced up to see that I was sitting beside a seedy icky porn shop trailer on top of a mountain, and thought I probably better keep on moving. This was not where I want to be. I really really wanted to get home so that I could get to my honey's arms. I inched my way through the ice and the snow, slowly for hours, knowing that when I reached my goal, I would be safe and I did it. All by myself. Life gives us tests, things that make us go outside of our comfort zone, challenges. We have to face them head on, and sometimes there is no one to take the wheel. You have to trust yourself and take the plunge. It might be scary and getting there may be hard, but it is worth the hard work. Pay no attention to the truck that scaled the guard rail head first on your right, you have to keep on truckin'.

hmmm

i guess the steelers just won the superbowl because i can hear people celebrating with screams, horn honks, fireworks, and gun shots (???) yeee haw. wow.