Thoughts on Isaac's Grandpa

We had a visitation for Isaac's grandpa yesterday afternoon and evening, and the funeral/burial/more family gatherings today. So many people were there who had been touched by Grandpa sometime during his life, even many former students and colleagues of his (he was a math teacher who retired many years ago). Knowing the kind of man Grandpa was, it didn't surprise me that he had touched so many people, but it did make me hope to live that kind of life as well.

Isaac reflected that while he considered himself blessed to have gotten to be with Grandpa and the family as he died on Wednesday, it was emotional to be the son watching his father watch his own father die. He said it was hard not to project one generation ahead.

I felt the same way watching Grandma say goodbye yesterday and today. It was hard not to project to if I'm ever in that same position, saying goodbye to my husband of many, many years. It makes me want to cuddle up close to Isaac and just be held for a very long time and not let go. It also makes me not want to think about it very much, since it would be such a difficult time.

Isaac and I both privately projected ahead to if we were in that position of him dying and me surviving, and neither of us thought much about the other way (me dying and him surviving). While I don't want to think about that either, I suppose it would selfishly be easier on me if I was the one who went first instead of having to adjust to life without Isaac.

It was special to hear Isaac's dad and one of his aunts speak of Grandpa. They highlighted his faithfulness - to God, his wife, his family, his work, his church, and his friends - and his friendship to everyone he met. I listened to my father-in-law speak of these things he learned from his dad, and I could see all those things in his life (and in Isaac's) as well.

I think of how lucky I am to have married into such a family, with such honorable and faithful men, and such a wonderful heritage. How lucky am I to have gotten to know Grandpa for these past eight and a half years. How lucky am I to have reaped the benefits of his life and his legacy. I hope Isaac and I can live up to the example he set.