Into The Wild Blue Yonder- Flying High Into The Sun

Well, my grandfather is finally a "free man" as my mom so appropriately put it. He passed away at around 3 a.m. today. I have been at my grandparents house every day for the past few days, so no blog for a while.( I have missed "journaling".) I am so happy that my grandfather is not suffering anymore. He battled Alzheimer's and Parkinson's for 24 years. He would have never wanted to live the way he has for the past 12 years. He was a man who was full of life and good to everyone he met. In the 10th grade, he lied about his age so he could go and fight for his country in WWII - he enrolled in the Air Force (hence the titile of this certain post- part of the Air Force song) and operated the machine guns on the bomber planes. He saw many friends get shot down and that haunted him for a while. After the war, he went to Furman University and majored in Psychology and also earned a spot in the Furman Baseball Hall of Fame as a pitcher for their team. He then went to Clemson University (yay) to earn his master's degree in education. He was a high school teacher and has a scholarship at that school named after him. He was an awesome grandfather. Took me everywhere, enrolled me in art classes when I was very young- I love to paint and draw to this day. He was a talented artist and a very intelligent man. He taught me to read when I was 3 years old. I have some incredible memories of him and I will always cherish them. I am not sad about his death. I learned to view death in a different way when I worked on Pediatric Oncology for 10 years. Not suggesting in any way that it is not sad to me or anything- especially if I lost a child or my husband- I hope I never have to experience that, I cannot imagine that type of pain and grief. But, we all have an appointment with it that cannot be changed and when our time is up it's up. Life is a precious gift, we should do the best we can with it- but eternal life is the real prize. I think about how amazing Heaven must be and I am so happy that he is there. I am sad for my grandmother. She took care of him all day every day for the past howevermany years. My mom also was so involved and helped so much with his care. My grandmother viewed him as literally her other half and I hope she can fill her life with some enjoyment and fun, but it is going to take her a while to get used to this "new normal" life. I know this post is a little blabberish but I am tired..... So, I hope you were able to bear with me as I traveled down memory lane tonight. I could have written a book just about my grandfather, but I will stop at what I have. Anytime I pass by a Hardees or see a light blue Volkswagon Bug, I will think of him. I hope when it is my time (hopefully a while from now) , that he will be at the gate with a smile on his face and a hug ready for me!