My grandpa has been gone for 1 year now, and my heart still hurts. I wrote a post about how I've kind of dealt with his death here, if you're interested.
The very last time I spoke to him, he was in the hospital. He called me on Messenger and asked me to send him some videos I had taken of the things he had built in his backyard.
*I'm sorry if you get motion sick from watching these..... they aren't the best quality!*
These are the videos he had me send:
Those videos bring back a lot of memories. Not just from that day that I took them, but from the many times he talked about building everything to him showing me his plans. And then watching it all come together.
My grandpa was an amazing builder. Do you know where he got all of the stuff to build these amazing things? THE DUMP. Yes, you read that correctly. He would drive to the dump and find almost everything he needed to build.
On a side note about the dump: One time when he was there he found a brand new set of pots and pans and brought them out to us. He also found a bike for Colton that was still in great condition. He found a printer, a laptop, some coats, and a bunch of other stuff that weren't for building. What's the saying? One man's trash is another man's treasure? My grandpa sure found a lot of treasure at that dump!
Anyways, back on topic now. Posted below are some of the things he built that I showed in the videos:
He built that bunkhouse so we could go have sleepovers. My sister and I got to go sleepover in the bunkhouse one time before he died. Just once. I'm still mad at myself for not making more time to go over. But that one time was so much fun!
We had had sleepovers there before and they had always been a blast. But this one was special because we were sleeping in the bunk that he had built with his own two hands.
My grandpa was an amazing chef. Oh my goodness he made the BEST spaghetti and meatballs! With the most delicious garlic bread! It was my favorite meal that he made. The last time my sister I had a sleepover, that's what he made for dinner.
Then we played a card game called Hand and Foot. I will say that I was usually on my grandpa's team and we pretty much always lost to my grandma and sister. He would always say "I got nothin'!". I can still hear his voice in my head saying those words.
Before he died, I told him he had to get better because I didn't want to forever be known as a loser at Hand and Foot! But alas, here I am, the loser of the game 😉
That night he took us out to the bunkhouse and made sure we knew how to use the heater so we would stay warm throughout the night. We said goodnight and he went back inside his house.
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast and went home. I wish that I had planned so many more weekends to spend with them and that bunkhouse he built.
You know, I can still feel his big hands holding my face while he would say "I love ya Nikki!" and then he would kiss my forehead. I miss those strong hands of his. And I miss those hands building beautiful things. I just miss him.
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