Death is a strange monkey

This post is going to be a little more somber than my regular posts. The reason being that is because this past weekend my grandfather died.

Early Sunday morning my family got a call from my grandma. She told us that she went to wake up grandpa that morning and was surprised to find that he was no longer with us. I was quite sad and I did cry a little.

I find death to be an interesting subject that many people shy away from. It can be very sad when it is someone close to you. Some people cry and become emotional when it happens and others refuse to talk about it and shut up like a clam. I happen to be a mixture of the two and I find that I have a really hard time dealing with it. Even more so if the person that died was close to me.

I also found the differences between my two grandpa's deaths interesting. About a year and a half ago my great-grandpa on my dad's side died. It was very tragic to me and I felt his loss quite deeply. (You'll have to excuse me because even as I talk about it now I feel like crying). My great-grandfather's death was very drawn out and very emotional. He was kept alive a lot longer than he should have been and I feel like he suffered a lot more than he needed to.  My grandfather's death on my mother's side was a lot quicker. In fact, we were all shocked to find out that he had died. It wasn't like he was in great health or anything but it was something that we never expected. We all got to see him during Easter, and for that I am extremely thankful, but we never suspected that he would be gone a week later.

It took us about four hours to get to my grandparent's house. It was really hard to walk into the house because the emotion kind of hit you all at once and it was strange to think that my grandpa wouldn't be back. After we ate some lunch my family sat around the table planning out the funeral which will be this Saturday. I don't think, though, that Grandma realized the impact that my grandpa has had on that community.

Grandma and Grandpa have been a part of the Cascade community for about fifty years. They moved there right after they were married. My grandpa started out as a logger and eventually wound up owning the town grocery store, the D9. He was kind to people his whole life and he was kind to all the people. While he was alive I don't think he would have ever guess the amount of people that would show up to his funeral. In fact, my grandma got a call from a relative in Oregon that will be attending the funeral.

All in all, my grandfather was a person I looked up to. We are all sad to see his passing but I hope to meet him again in Heaven and I look forward to that day. I think people as a whole need to also realized that death isn't a punishment for those who love God. I grieve with those around me but I am happy that my grandfather won't have to suffer from this life anymore. Rest in Peace Grandpa and I hope to see you again.