N & i actually don't celebrate valentine's day. i love him all year, so for us, this is just another day. when the kids get older, i will pry use the day as an excuse to get them a little candy or socks, or something, but i think it's a day for small presents, not big ones.
i did get my folks a couple books, bc i thought they could use the distraction after the crap week they've been having. for those of you who don't know, my grandfather passed away last sunday. his widow & her son (no relation to us) are being wretched & intentionally blocking everything my grandfather wanted carried out after his death, including decent care for the widow (who is very ill & needs to be in a home or hospital) & arranging for my grandfather's burial. (he got into arlington, which is a big deal & come hell or high water, we WILL see him buried there.)
we can't even settle on a memorial service in my grandfather's town yet, which is hard, bc my grandpa was a pretty big deal where he lived & lots of folks are calling my dad & wanting to help, or participate & pay their respects in some way. he sat on a ton of local committees right up until his death, & he had a hand in pretty much everything that happened in his little town, not to mention he was a veteran of 2 wars who served his country for 30+ years, a colonel in the air force, an active participant in rebuilding armenia after its independence from the USSR in 91, a lobbiest for public health & environmental issues in michigan congress & generally just a pretty cool old dude. the town's mayor is anticipating several hundred folks wanting to be at the memorial (alot for this little town) & we'd really like to get going on planning a farewell for him.
the silver lining in all of this is that alot of people we didn't even know knew my grandpa are coming out of the woodwork. my dad got a call from the former attorney general of the US yesterday morning offering condolences, & then the man sent a really beautiful eulogy to be read at the service. one of the original tuskeegee airmen called to see what he could do & suggest an honor guard-- i always just knew him as my grandpa's best friend, i never knew he was such an important character in his own right. anyways, little things like that have helped cheer my dad up & make him feel like all his work is worth it. it's really rewarding to see how many people loved the man i just knew as grandpa, & to see the impact one life had on so many different people.
there's really no point to this post, other than getting out my own meandering thoughts... sorry kids! happy valentine's day!
Like you, we don't really 'do' valentines day...~shrugs~ oh well...
ReplyDeleteYour Grand father sounds like he was a pretty awesome man. I hope things iron out, and you guys can do what you really would like.
~hugs~
we don't really "do" V-day either. Mike got me a Skor bar & some hershey's kisses, but he didnt' even have a chance to make me a card this year, and I didn't do anything for him.
ReplyDeleteDitto what Iiri said about your grandpa, and how special thta all these people are coming out of the woodwork like you said!
We don't do Valentine's Day either. We get the kids something but nothing for each other. Like you said, it's just another day and I always love him.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about things with your grandfather, I hope that they get worked out soon. He sounds like an amazing man and should certainly be honored in an amazing way.
Oh Kate, I'm so sorry about your grandpa. It sounds like he was an incredible man and led such a fulfilling life. I hope everything works out and you're all able to honor him how he would want.
ReplyDeleteNo VDay here either. Hubs asked me in the morning: "do you want me to make you breakfast to be nice?" HA! Such a jackass. He made me pancakes and I make him brisket for dinner. The end. We didn't even get little man anything but he's happy playing with his socks and the remotes anyways.