Sent: June 28, 2008 3:05 PM
Subject: We Remember Grandpa Dick
I wrote last month about my Dad’s cancer returning, and we had such high hopes that he’d beat it again as he’d done before. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be, and he died less than a month after he was diagnosed. As we had agreed a week before, I flew to Minneapolis on May 28th — originally, it was to help my parents drive to Texas where my Dad would resume his treatments, but he went into the hospital the day before and we knew we wouldn’t be traveling any time soon. I feel really fortunate that I was able to spend time with him before he died early the next morning. I’ve created a separate page with a few memories of my Dad, and I plan to add more to that page over time.
While Grandpa Dick’s death has been foremost in our minds, life (and life’s printer-friendly version) inexplicably continues:
- At the lake, Grandma Irene overheard Jack talking to Cate, and he said, “I miss Grandpa Dick. How’s he gonna show me how to do stuff now?”
- The kids were perfect little adults at the visitation on June 2nd. With that said, they still had a little fun. Jack was signing the registration book, and Cate said to Lisa: “THIS might take a while…”
- Jack told me they had watched WALL*E during their last day of school. When I expressed some skepticism, he quickly backtracked, saying: “To do that, we’d have to go to the movie THEE-ay-ter.” He’s a native Texas alright
- Last weekend, Jack suggested a new outdoor game: “Let’s shoot the Nerf arrow straight into the air, but I don’t think it will come down with lethal velocity.” Well, I guess that’s a plus
- Here’s something I never thought I’d have to say: “Kids, please use your own toothbrushes.”
- On the way to church, the iPod played a random song from the Drowsy Chaperone (henceforth known as the ‘monkey song’). To my amazement, Jack knew that he’d heard it before, and (more amazingly) remembered that he’d heard it precisely three months before during our drive to Colorado
- At their 7-year check-up, Cate was 45 1/2 inches and 42 pounds. Jack was 46 3/4 inches and 44 pounds.
- All the legal and regulatory niceties have been completed, so I’m now an Oracle employee. My new email address is greg.x.nelson@oracle.com — the ‘X’ is for eXtreme
That’s it for now!
Lisa and Greg