I was the one that walked into the bedroom that morning and found my grandpa Tommy in his bed. He was buried next to his husband not too long after his passing. My mother grieved the hardest, though her brothers took it hard too; we all did, really.
While I was sad that they were gone, however, a bigger part of me was happy that they were together again. There was no doubt in my mind that its where they belonged and that they were happy.
I'm much older now than I was that day in the cemetery with my grandpa Tommy. As I sit here in my cabin in upstate New York, writing out their story of perseverance and love and taking in all that I have been given in my life, the biggest feeling I have is gratitude. There is a thankfulness in my soul to my grandfathers that I can never express to them. Gratitude for having the strength to stand in a world that said they could never be; for choosing love above hate, sorrow, and fear.
Without them, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have a magnificent wife, who is currently talking with our daughter, that has taken care of our family for well over twenty-five years. She will be giving birth soon (my daughter, not my wife, of course) and I hope that I am around to pass on the story to my own grandchildren. Out of that story, there is a running theme that has always impacted me in such a way that I have defaulted to it whenever life seemed hard and impossible; the importance of family. And the power of love.
I am reminded of the Summers that I would spend with them. The fun we would have. My grandpa Tommy would let me get away with murder, while grandpa Nate taught me the more rational side of being. I miss those Summers.
Anyway, Dear Reader, I will leave you with words my Grandpa Nate would say to me when it was my turn to pray for our supper :
"Now, don't forget to thank the Lord for our food and to bless it."
"I know, Grandpa."
"And don't forget to thank the Lord for our family and everything that He has provided to us."
"I know Grandpa."
"And Nicholas..." He would pause with a smile on his face.
"Yeah?"
"Don't forget to thank Him for the Ketchup."
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Impact
RomanceTommy Shultz is the jock that every woman wants and every guy wants to be. He's good looking, surprisingly intelligent and confident. His college scholarship is going to take him to the big leagues and he isn't afraid to break hearts along the way...
