Goodbye sweet friend...

I said goodbye to my Grandpa Tippets last night. It's been hard. Really hard. I miss him so much already. His sweet twinkling eyes, his crooked smile, the love I felt each time I hugged him. I miss his jokes- even the penguin one. I miss watching the way he loved my Grandma. I miss his arms continually outstretched to hold our babies. I miss how hard he tried to learn Spanish from Tom. I miss his tenderness.

I don't think there is any way to accurately describe the type of man he was, the impact he had on my life. It's been only one day and there is an aching hole in my heart he used to fill.

We had such a sweet day yesterday. One I will treasure for forever. We all got to snuggle in bed with him, hold his hand and reminisce about his life, all the memories we had with him. He couldn't talk or move, but he was very much there. He'd crack a half smile when we talked about the time we caught him squeezing Grandma's bum during a dinner prayer, he'd lift his eyebrows when we'd remind him he was in bed with 4 women, and even in his last few hours, he found a way to tell us that he wanted baby Lucy in his arms. We got to hear him whisper "love you all" and in reply to us telling him how much we loved him, he softly exhaled "makes me happy".

And, sweetest of all, he mustered all the strength he had left to pucker his lips when I bent down to kiss him goodbye.

I hope you're running right now. It warms my heart to think of the reunion with your son, all your family. Thank you for the legacy of love you are leaving behind, for the incredible example you have set for us.

I hope I'm just like you when I grow up.

I love you grandpa, more than I ever took the time to tell you.

I will miss you every day until we meet again.

{Obituary can be found here}