My uncle tragically passed away almost two weeks ago. It has been a very trying time for my family and me as we come to grips with his incredibly untimely death. He lived in Texas for many years, but when I was young he was always around and a big part of our family.
Tomorrow marks one year since my Grandma Hank passed away. People always say that grief can hit you at times when you least expect it. Boy, those people are right.
At my Grandma's service, my dad (her oldest son) got up to speak about my Grandma. It was a great speech and he held it together the whole time. I on the other hand, did not. Especially, at a certain part of his speech that I want to make note of here. He said:
"As many of you know, my mom had a lot of sayings. A couple of most notable ones were 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.' She had a lot of lemons in her life and she always seemed to make the best out of those situations.
Another saying she had was 'A girl can never have too many shoes.' And we all know she had plenty.
A week before she passed I was visiting my mom and I told her that we would be going with my daughter to an ultrasound to find out the gender of her baby. My mom told me that 'if it's a girl,' to do her a favor and 'get the baby her first pair of shoes from Grandma Hank.'
So Kaysie and Kevin [my dad holds up a tiny little gift bag, and from the gift bag he pulls out the tiniest little pair of baby shoes] I wanted to be sure to honor Grandma Hank's request, and give you these shoes for her great-great granddaughter."
...and cue the tears.
That moment is something I'll never forget.
