dear grandpa earl,

today you left me; you left our family. this morning i missed a call from my dad. i was at work when i found out what happened. immediately i left work, picked up zac, and drove straight to your house to spend time with the family, and to try to cheer grandma up. i cooked food and made cookies for everyone. then my siblings and i raked your front lawn, because grandma can't do that stuff. it was the least i could do, and i wish i could've done more.

the whole entire day, memories of you flooded into my mind, and i was surprised by how many i had. you are such a loving, selfless, and wise man. whenever i gave you a hug goodbye, you would always look me straight in the eye, and say, "we sure love you." whenever you were over, you would always put your arm around me and give me good advice, or tell me something that made me feel loved and special.

when i was little, i remember going to your house with my mom and little sisters at least once a week. there, it would be your job to pick up a papa john's pizza and bake it for us. i loved that. i remember playing in your basement for hours: riding pillows across the treadmill, playing the piano, and watching cartoons. today i went down there, and everything looked exactly the same. i wanted to lay on the couch and have another sleep over.

i remember, in the summers, going out to your garden and helping you pick blackberries and raspberries to eat. i remember playing in your backyard, and swinging on the swing under your back deck. i remember picking apples from the tree. i remember collecting nuts from off the ground under the tree, and going into the garage and cracking them with that huge, red nutcracker.

i remember when you and grandma would come over when we lived in our old house, and you would always call everyone "murtle." we thought that was so funny. and when you would give us a "squeeze," and not miss one birthday.

a couple months ago, in early october, when mom, grandma, steph and i were dropping grandma off after going to the general relief society meeting, i asked you if i could have a few tomatoes from your garden. you got me my tomatoes, but you also loaded me up with a bunch of other things, like extra tomatoes (i think i got about 10), a bag full of hazelnuts, and a head of cabbage.

on thanksgiving, we played bezzerwizzer, and you could hardly figure out how to play it. that made me laugh. you are such a funny old coot, and you always found the time to laugh at yourself, too. you were constantly looking for the happiness in life.

on christmas every year, you would make breakfast for everyone. you loved that; you loved serving. you are always doing something, whether it was helping a neighbor build something, or giving your garden vegetables away, or serving in the temple. you loved giving of yourself, your time, and your talents (and you have many!), which is why it doesn't surprise me that you died on your way to the temple.

grandpa, thank you for being an example to me. thank you for being my grandpa. thank you for being so strong in the church. thank you for supporting me, and loving me. thank you for raising my mom so she could raise me. i know i will see you again one day. i can just see you up there, doing exactly what you did here: being a missionary and serving people with all your heart. how does it feel to see your son, parents, and other family and friends again? how does it feel to meet the people you helped down here in the temple? i bet you're pretty famous up there. i can just imagine you laughing at us down here for being so sad.

i love you, grandpa. i'll see you soon, okay? :)

love, megan