Happy Birthday Gramps!

I am sorry I am a day late in recognizing Gramps' birthday. I have been thinking about him all day and wanted to make sure it didn't go by unnoticed. I was hoping to have some pics of him but Amy and I didn't go digital until after he passed. The pic above is the only one I have on my computer, it is quite dated but it captures the way he was and the way I will always remember him. He was a very special person to me and it pains me that he is no longer here. He was such a great Grandpa to my sisters, cousins and I that my only regret is my girls never had a chance to know him as we did. I can picture he and Maddi laughing together as they joke back and forth with each other. Abbey would have loved his attention and compassion for others and working on projects with him. They would have seen how loved and respected he was by family, friends, colleagues and community members.
He is one of the most special people that God has blessed my life with. We shared many of the same passions: Racing, Fords, Home projects (much to Gram's dismay), and College football. He always had a twinkle in his eye and a wonderful smile that I tried my best to earn. One of my fondest memories was during a visit when I was in 6th-7th grade. We were getting ready to eat dinner and I thought I would be funny by forming my hair into a mohawk. I knew I would catch him off-guard and make him bust out laughing. I went into the kitchen and sat at the table. Gram broke out laughing but Gramps didn't so much as crack a smile. He excused himself from the table and left the room. I was quite dejected not to even get a smile out of him. A few minutes later he returned to the table straight faced and sat back in his chair...with a mohawk to match mine. We shared a great laugh that night.
Another memory I will always have is his smell, a mix of oil, gasoline and peppermint candies that could be found in the glove box of his truck. I will never forget it. He and I enjoyed a close relationship through my high school years and into adulthood. I loved the days he would come to the Lumberyard and visit with me, typically buying a sheet of glass or something else to keep his "rental properties" conforming to code...barely. He took the time to attend my sporting events, even my softball games when I was grown up and married. It felt great to look in the bleachers and see him setting there, it motivated me to play harder for him.
So for your Birthday Gramps I want to say thank you. Thank you for being there and showing me I was important to you. Thank you for those hard earned smiles and for playing along with my silliness. Thank you for being my Grandpa and doing fun things with me because you wanted to. Most of all I thank you for your Love. Happy Birthday.