I was talking to my mom about something today and she said something about owls. My grandma passes away in 2002 but she collected owls...a lot of owls! Nowadays, Owls are a trendy thing. You can buy bags, sheets, stuffed animals, and jewelry all with owls. It's kinda become a zany love of mine to buy a few things with owls simply b/c they remind me of Grandma. With my Grandpa (from the other side of the family) passing away only a few weeks ago, I've really thought of my grandparents often. So while driving home today I began to tear up at the thought of my grandparents. How much I miss them, how they aged as I aged (they aren't supposed to do that), and how my kids are growing as well.
The week after Grandpa passed I was talking to a mom whose son is in Izzy's class. She said that her grandmother's funeral was the same day as A.J's first day of school. She said that she went to the viewing in the morning but she missed her grandmother's funeral b/c she didn't want to miss his first day of kindergarten. As I thought about this today, the thought popped into my head: "we don't get to quit living when a loved one dies." It really hit me hard in a surprising way. It's true. We continue to love them and miss them and remember them but we don't get to quit living. They wouldn't want us to. My grandparents are in a good place and they are watching my children, their great-grandchildren, grow and live and that gives them joy. And it should give me joy as well.
I love my Grandma and Grandpa Snapp and my Grandpa May and though they are not on this earth any longer, they do not want me to stop living or to stop enjoying watching my children living. I need to keep this in perspective. I need to find the joy in the journey while I keep the memories in my heart.
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