He Doesn't Wear Glasses Either...

Yesterday was a special day in our family; one of our favorite people, my Grandpa, turned the big

  9-0!!  

In honor of him, I would like to post just of few of the reasons why I have so much love and respect for this man.

1.  He loved my Grandma

              

Not only was he a faithful husband throughout their lives, but he was her sole caregiver in the last years of her life as she suffered from Alzheimer's.  She passed away ten months ago, and the life they lived together in the few years before that was a picture of devotion that will forever be impressed upon my heart.  

I watched him sit next to her on the couch.  

I watched him hold her hand.  

I watched him faithfully dispense her medicine to her at the specified times every day.  

I watched as he slowly walked her to their car when they were able to get out, and then carefully help her into the passenger side.  

I watched him love her.

Then, last year, I watched as he said his emotional final goodbye to her. 

I watched him hold her hand as he witnessed her very last breath.  

I watched him at the funeral as we remembered her life on earth and celebrated her being with Christ.

I will never forget it.  Those images are etched into my memory for the rest of my life.  As I watched these things, a lifetime of love and devotion flashed before my eyes, and words could not express my gratitude for his commitment to his wife, which was a direct result of his commitment and love for God.

Since then, I have watched him live on.  His days are not without struggles, but he lives and he enjoys.  He goes to town.  He goes to church.  He takes walks with his black lab Babe, and he goes fishing, catches a bunch and then filets them and fries them so we can eat them!  

Although he wasn't able to do any of these during the years when Grandma was so ill, I never saw him express bitterness.  But now, although he still grieves her passing, he is thriving and doing well, and for that we praise the Lord.

2.  He served our country.

Grandpa was a side gunner on the B-17 bomber in WWII.  What a brave generation of soldiers and men!  He has shared so many stories with us when we've asked him to, and he always gives credit to the Lord for bringing him out alive.  

This past summer, he traveled with us to the Air Force Museum.  What a treat that was!  We located "his" plane in the WWII section of the museum, and he showed us exactly where he sat and what he did.  People would overhear him talking about it and then approach him and thank him for his service.  We felt like we were with a celebrity!  :)

Grandpa with some of his great-grandchildren in front of the B-17.

3.  He loves and enjoys my children.

We go to visit Grandpa quite a bit, and sometimes (like when we celebrated his birthday yesterday) it can get a bit...let's say hectic.  See, his house has a really cool hallway in it that is open on both ends, so it is the perfect place for people like my little people to run around and around and around and around and around and....well, you get the picture.  I'm always amazed at Grandpa's patience!  He simply remarks that he wishes he had a nickel for every time my dad ran around that hallway when he was a boy, and then gives a little chuckle.

Last fall, he helped my kids pick up walnuts around the farm, and then rode with us to the walnut selling place.  It was his pleasure!  He has a tobacco stick with a tin can attached, which is the perfect walnut picker-upper!  It was a great day!

4.  He is a poet.

He has written many, many poems about all sorts of things.  The poem I've posted below is hanging up in our schoolroom.  We read it aloud every now and then just to keep us on our toes!

5.  He is a man of God.

This, of course is the most important one.  Grandpa has always been one of the most generous, patient, caring and strong men I know.  He doesn't do any of it for his own glory, and obviously he isn't perfect.  But as long as I have known him he has been a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, and is not ashamed to say that it is the Lord who has sustained him throughout his life.

I love him!

Happy 90th Birthday Grandpa!