Grapefruitprincess ReLoaded: And then, in a wink, childhood feels much further away

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

And then, in a wink, childhood feels much further away


Yesterday at work I recieved a phone call. It was one of these weird moments when you see a number, or in this case no number on the display, and you know something is about to happen. Something just ain´t right.

I answered. It was my uncle. The minute he said it was him I knew what was wrong.

My grandpa passed away that night. He had a heart attack.

Tears came out of my eyes, my heart broke and ten thousands of thoughts went through my mind.

My uncle asked me if I could call my dad and my brother and sisters to let them know since he didn´t catch any of them on the phone. So I went back into "function-mode". I called them. Now I was the one passing on an unbelievable sad message, that would change their lifes as well.

Grandpa was 88. Most of his life was great I think! He was married to the best woman ever, my grandma. He had 2 wonderful kids, my mom and my uncle.

Then my mom died. And that broke his heart. Then his wife died... And after that we all thought he might be next, cause he changed so bad and was so OLD and confused for months.

But then he was doing great again! He even told me one day, that I should never try calling him between 9AM and 9PM since he´s on the road doing this and that during this time :)

Grandpa was the best. He taught me how to swim. And man that must have been one of the hardest things ever since I was such a sissy when it came to water :oD

Grandpa went hiking with us. He knew so much about everything! Trees, plants, landscapes, countries. We were digging us through old bomb craters that were still there from WW2 just to find some fossilizations. And yes, we found loads, loads of them!

Grandpa took us to Belgium just to have fries in the country that invented them!

Grandpa took us to swamps, to show us how fast rubber boots can disappear in there!

Grandpa showed us how to solve crossword puzzles! And how to cheat on them!

Grandpa was proud when we started collecting stamps from all over the world as well!

Grandpa was the best gardener in the whole wide world!

Grandpa was the marriage registrar when my parents married!

Grandpa almost choked while watching "Dinner for one". He would laugh so hard, that his face turned red and he could barely breath anymore!

Grandpa had a ship in a bottle on his desk!

Grandpa even had an anchor tatoo on his arm from way back in the days when he was a sailor!

It feels so weird knowing he´s gone now. I keep thinking I should have been there more often. Should have called more often. But at least I remember the last time I was talking to him, I told him that I love him. And I am pretty sure he knew that!

I will miss him. A lot.

Growing up sucks.



7 comments :

  1. I am so sorry for your loss my Amiga. I never knew my grandparents, you are fortunate to have these precious memories of your grandpa. Tears swelled my eyes as I read your post and then I giggled about his almost choking due to laughter! These are such great memories that will live with you forever, no one can ever take them away from you. Your grandpa was a fine man! My thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.

    Tootles
    ~SimplyyMayra

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so, so sorry for your loss. I agree with you, growing up sucks. Sending happy thoughts your way!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So sorry for your loss. He sounds like a special man! Hope all your memories will bring you comfort...
    Michelle
    http://normalchaosforamultitaskmom.blogspot.com/2012/07/in-need-of-some-emotional-duct-tape.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh dear... sorry for your loss :( I'm awaiting this call too... well, let's remember all the happy times and be happy to have had them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Danke liebe Alice! Ja, ich verfolge das auf deinem Blog auch...
    Bei uns kam es sehr überraschend. Opa ging´s am Tag vorher noch blendend! Und dann nachts der Herzinfarkt.... Aber es ist schön zu wissen, dass er keinen langen Leidensweg hatte und bis zum Ende ziemlich fit war :)
    Ich denke an euch!! Vielleicht geht es bei deinem Opa ja doch wieder bergauf. Fühl dich gedrückt!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh no I am so sorry to hear this!!! Thinking of you :(

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm sorry to read this, but I'm thankful that you remember so much about him. He sounds like the perfect grandfather. And it sounds like you both loved each other a lot.

    Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I love reading them all and will try my best to answer all of your questions. If you would like to contact me for a quicker response please feel free to tweet me at (@grfrprincess), message me on Instagram (@anni_s) or email me. ~Anni

And then, in a wink, childhood feels much further away


Yesterday at work I recieved a phone call. It was one of these weird moments when you see a number, or in this case no number on the display, and you know something is about to happen. Something just ain´t right.

I answered. It was my uncle. The minute he said it was him I knew what was wrong.

My grandpa passed away that night. He had a heart attack.

Tears came out of my eyes, my heart broke and ten thousands of thoughts went through my mind.

My uncle asked me if I could call my dad and my brother and sisters to let them know since he didn´t catch any of them on the phone. So I went back into "function-mode". I called them. Now I was the one passing on an unbelievable sad message, that would change their lifes as well.

Grandpa was 88. Most of his life was great I think! He was married to the best woman ever, my grandma. He had 2 wonderful kids, my mom and my uncle.

Then my mom died. And that broke his heart. Then his wife died... And after that we all thought he might be next, cause he changed so bad and was so OLD and confused for months.

But then he was doing great again! He even told me one day, that I should never try calling him between 9AM and 9PM since he´s on the road doing this and that during this time :)

Grandpa was the best. He taught me how to swim. And man that must have been one of the hardest things ever since I was such a sissy when it came to water :oD

Grandpa went hiking with us. He knew so much about everything! Trees, plants, landscapes, countries. We were digging us through old bomb craters that were still there from WW2 just to find some fossilizations. And yes, we found loads, loads of them!

Grandpa took us to Belgium just to have fries in the country that invented them!

Grandpa took us to swamps, to show us how fast rubber boots can disappear in there!

Grandpa showed us how to solve crossword puzzles! And how to cheat on them!

Grandpa was proud when we started collecting stamps from all over the world as well!

Grandpa was the best gardener in the whole wide world!

Grandpa was the marriage registrar when my parents married!

Grandpa almost choked while watching "Dinner for one". He would laugh so hard, that his face turned red and he could barely breath anymore!

Grandpa had a ship in a bottle on his desk!

Grandpa even had an anchor tatoo on his arm from way back in the days when he was a sailor!

It feels so weird knowing he´s gone now. I keep thinking I should have been there more often. Should have called more often. But at least I remember the last time I was talking to him, I told him that I love him. And I am pretty sure he knew that!

I will miss him. A lot.

Growing up sucks.



7 comments :

  1. I am so sorry for your loss my Amiga. I never knew my grandparents, you are fortunate to have these precious memories of your grandpa. Tears swelled my eyes as I read your post and then I giggled about his almost choking due to laughter! These are such great memories that will live with you forever, no one can ever take them away from you. Your grandpa was a fine man! My thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.

    Tootles
    ~SimplyyMayra

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so, so sorry for your loss. I agree with you, growing up sucks. Sending happy thoughts your way!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So sorry for your loss. He sounds like a special man! Hope all your memories will bring you comfort...
    Michelle
    http://normalchaosforamultitaskmom.blogspot.com/2012/07/in-need-of-some-emotional-duct-tape.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh dear... sorry for your loss :( I'm awaiting this call too... well, let's remember all the happy times and be happy to have had them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Danke liebe Alice! Ja, ich verfolge das auf deinem Blog auch...
    Bei uns kam es sehr überraschend. Opa ging´s am Tag vorher noch blendend! Und dann nachts der Herzinfarkt.... Aber es ist schön zu wissen, dass er keinen langen Leidensweg hatte und bis zum Ende ziemlich fit war :)
    Ich denke an euch!! Vielleicht geht es bei deinem Opa ja doch wieder bergauf. Fühl dich gedrückt!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh no I am so sorry to hear this!!! Thinking of you :(

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm sorry to read this, but I'm thankful that you remember so much about him. He sounds like the perfect grandfather. And it sounds like you both loved each other a lot.

    Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I love reading them all and will try my best to answer all of your questions. If you would like to contact me for a quicker response please feel free to tweet me at (@grfrprincess), message me on Instagram (@anni_s) or email me. ~Anni