Dear Papa,
Tonight I went over to Nanny's house. We sorted through dozens and dozens of family albums. I missed you as I saw pictures of you smiling and laughing. I loved seeing memories of your life that still remain. I loved hearing stories about you and feeling the love that we still all have for you. You died when I was 5. You were a man that I never really got to know well here on earth but I have felt your loving spirit close to me throughout my life. I have thought of you so many times.
I remember when you died the cousins and I went out to your beautiful garden out back and we picked the vegetables. We tried to sell them to people to try and make money to help with funeral costs. In our young minds it was the best we thought we could do.
I want you to know that I have a happy life. I am proud of the woman that I have become and I think you would be too. I wish you could meet the man I married, he is wonderful. His name is John. We try to live the gospel the best we can. He treats me with so much respect. We have such a happy life together. I know you would love him too.
Some times I feel mad at you for leaving us so early. I feel sad that you never got to hear me sing. I feel sad that you weren't at our wedding. I feel sad that you will never get to meet our babies.
But whenever I feel that sadness I also feel you, comforting me. I know you see us all growing and learning. Someday we want to name one of our sons Aaron, after you. I hope we make you proud and that you know we love you.
Thank you for marrying an incredible woman and raising 5 strong children. I am particularly grateful for my mother, Evelyn. She loves you so much and I know she misses you too.
Thank you for working hard to give your children the best that you could. My mother turned out to be the best mother anyone could ask for. Thank you for teaching her the things you did.
Nanny is happy as she is surrounded by her family. She lives a love filled life and we adore every ounce of her. Tonight it took me an hour to teach her how to put all of her scanned photos in to one folder on her computer. I thought she was going to wet her pants laughing so hard about it all. You should have seen it, she is a riot. She is just as quirky as ever. She is so lovely, I wish I could be there to see the two of you reunited.
I hope you know that we think of you.
We speak of you.
We remember you.
We love you.
I can't wait to see you again.
Love your grand-daughter,
Rachel
20 comments:
oh my gosh, i'm in tears. i can barely see the screen as i'm writing this. this was such a heartfelt post, and i'm so happy to have read it. it will be amazing when you all meet again someday.
Lovely.
Geez Rachel, Thanks for the first thing in the morning cry. This was a beautiful post, it makes me think of my own grandfather. It's sweet to think of all being together again. I love the gospel for that comfort.
oh my goodness it's amazing how strong those genes are! you are your mother is her mother and father:) your grandpa can still be seen in your face love!!!!!
oh gracious. this post is beautiful. that second to last picture is amazing...all of these are. bless you, sweet girl. how heartfelt.
This brought tears to my eyes...Papa's are the sweetest...I'm so thankful for pictures that preserve memories like this. Big hugs to you my friend
Love.
My eyes are all misty. So touching!
So sweet!! You look a lot like him!
Love the photos!! It's great to see old photos of family members. Your Papa looked like a nice man :)
Oh my word, the tears! So sweet. I feel like I could write something very similar to my grandmother who died when I was 6 months old. I bet your Papa loved reading this.
Everything in this post is beautiful- the words, the pictures...everything. So sweet!
You had me in tears reading this. Simply beautiful. You have a truly kind and wonderful soul....I am sure he would be so proud of the lovely and talented woman you have become.
What a great tribute. Love this.
such a beautiful post! i love this! intriguing photos!
-karly
www.karpluswade.blogspot.com
This is so sweet. How lovely. :)
x
this is absolutely beautiful and the photos are amazing. life seemed so classy back then. and wow this hits hard after my grandmother just died a bit ago.
Oh, I love this post...the pics, the letter you wrote, beautiful. It makes me think of my grandad that I love and lost right before I graduated from college. What a sweet sentiment!
This was such a darling, sweet, beautiful tribute, Rachel... brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful man he must have been.
Hope you have a wonderful week, pretty girl. :)
oh wow. What a sweet post. Those are fabulous pictures!
ah, just looking at these photos make me cry like a baby. especially that second to last one where they are looking into eachother's eyes. you can tell they love each other so much. it makes me think of my bobo and how much i miss him. thanks for sharing this. :)
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