Papa

Yesterday was Papa's b-day. Kristen put something up on her blog and I was going to do the same but I can't find what I wrote for that service insert. Instead, I ran across a Halloween card he sent me fall of 2006. He didn't regularly send Halloween cards :) But he wanted to send a little something "extra" that I could spend how I wanted. The card has a weener dog in a hot dog bun and the inside says "Happy Halloweenie." It's hilarious. It's the last thing I have save in Papa's handwriting.

Kristen wrote, It is so strange to look into the future and think that he won’t be there. It seems unreal, not possible. But as there are many memories of the past that point to him, I know that he has left part of himself here, now, and those pieces of Papa will be a legacy for years and generations to come. Who I am, who we all are, has been shaped in some way by the tenderness of Papa, Dad, Carl…

I've thought often how strange it is that he isn't here, meeting the people who are in my life now, watching me experience the things that I am. It does seem unreal, not possible...

Luke and I are going to the U.P. next weekend. I am so excited. I miss Papa. I miss Grandma. I love every single memory I have in that house from sliding down the stairs in our sleeping bags and crawling in bed with Papa and Grandma in the mornings to holidays spent enjoying the SNOW and star toast with coffee in the early morning. I look forward to it. Something about the U.P. holds a certain sense of "going home." I think because it's a place that holds so many memories with people I love and are so dear to my heart.

So, here's to the house on Minnesota St. and all the people that have made it a wonderful place through the years--Can't wait to come, Grandma!!! Bring out the star toast and coffee :) :)

(oh, and are there still raspberries or is the season over?...)