Missing GrandBob

I haven't blogged in awhile because I just don't really even know what to say. Blake's stepdad, Bob, died about a week and a half ago. He was 54. He had bone cancer and after undergoing many, many treatments of various types, he'd been given only a few months to live. Then he suddenly was hit with meningitis and quickly passed away.

Bob was Blake's step-dad but had been in the family for more than 22 years. It's impossible to describe a man in a few words, but just a few of my favorite memories of him, off the top of my head, include:

*When I was new to the family, at dinner one night he scolded me by saying, "In this house, we don't leave anything on our plates." Yes, sir. I ate the rest.

*Camping with him and Janie and Blake and, once, Nate too. Bob loved to camp. We would sit out at the picnic table and play the board game Sequence.

*Him barbecuing chickens on his backyard pit. Best chicken ever.

*Seeing him holding both of my newborns.

*After my first miscarriage, him telling Blake that we will see the baby in heaven one day.

*His famous caramel corn he made every Christmas! He tried to teach me how to make it several times, and it just never turned out as good as his. He also made a mean pumpkin roll every Christmas.

*The way he helped Janie in the kitchen. He said they got along best when they were working together. I've always thought they were a compatible, loving couple who took care of each other. (And Janie proved this toward the end as she took such amazing care of Bob.)

*Watching him play with the kids, usually outside. The kids loved their GrandBob, and still do of course.

*I can't look around my house without seeing all the projects Bob did around our house. We were just talking yesterday about how strange it's going to be without Bob. Anytime we have a home improvement project on our minds, the first thing we think of is getting Bob here to help us. He was not only handy, he was very giving of his time and talents.

There are so many more, but I'll stop there.

This is the first death in our close family since we've had children, and I didn't know what to expect from the children. Well, mostly Nate since Georgia is still too young to understand anything. Nate knew that GrandBob was sick because we prayed for him every night. Most nights when I would pray for Bob, Nate would say, "But mama, GrandBob is all better now!" Probably because he looked and acted so healthy. So I read him a book about heaven and explained that GrandBob was in heaven now. When we were on the way to Owensboro for the visitation and funeral, I asked Nate, "Do you remember where GrandBob is now?" He said, "At heaven? It's a happy place, and you get to sit next to God!" Very sweet.

For the visitation, the kids mostly stayed in the funeral home's lounge, where they had food and such. They had a good time playing with cousins, not understanding what a sad time this was for the rest of us. The next day, they were surprisingly good as they sat through the whole funeral. Well, mainly because I was stuffing their little mouths with snacks the whole time so they wouldn't be loud! But I was so proud of how well behaved they were.

Later that day, we were sitting in the back yard with Blake's mom, and out of nowhere Nate asked, "Hey, where's GrandBob?" Blake reminded him that GrandBob is in heaven now. Nate said, "I want him to come back." All three of us let out a sigh. We do too.

This weekend Janie came to visit, and yesterday we had a cookout with friends and family. We had a good time, but we were all very aware that someone was missing. It just won't be the same.

We miss you, GrandBob.