A few weeks ago, we said goodbye to my grandpa for the last time. I haven’t really felt much like posting about it until now because, well, I’m still said. It was actually a really nice weekend, memorial service aside, and it was nice to have our entire family together. But, the whole weekend, all I could think about was how much Boppa would have loved to have seen both of his sons, and all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren together.

We all met up at a Mexican restaurant in Chattanooga for an early dinner on Friday (before sundown), and it was fun. I could tell my grandma was cheered up some by seeing all of us together, laughing and having a good time. We hung out a bit at my parents’ house afterward before we headed to our motel. We stayed at the same place where my sister and her family stayed, so that was fun. It was nice getting some extra time with them. My sister is awesome! 🙂

Saturday was the memorial service. It was hard. Really hard. I couldn’t get through my short talk without crying. But it’s OK. It’s allowed and expected. It was nice seeing all the people there who loved my grandpa.

After a late lunch at my home church (bereavement committees = awesome), we headed to my parents’ again. The kids boated for a while in the small lake behind my parents’ house.

And, Lucy chased the geese.

Then, we all hung out until close to 10 p.m. The male grandchildren (and my sister’s two boys) played basketball. Lucy, Harrison and Marshall “played” t-ball. The rest of us just chit-chatted. It was nice and a good way to end the day.

We had planned to head back early on Sunday, but we ended up staying at my parents’ for a while talking with my aunt, uncle and cousin. My sister and her family, and my other cousin and her family left earlier that morning. Then, my grandma decided she wanted to take everyone out to eat, so we hit up Olive Garden and then got frozen yogurt at Sweet Frog before calling an end to the weekend.

It was a sad few days, but there was great family time, and I know that’s something my grandpa would have loved. He would have loved to see us all having fun together. And so, we did.