In Memoriam

I was all gung-ho about completely catching up last week, but the week had other plans. Last Tuesday, November 7, 2006, my grandfather Max Arthur Abston passed away and I quickly flew to Spokane for the funeral. All my life us grandkids always called our grandfather "Papa." The night before the funeral, all eleven grandkids got together to plan the eulogy and make a list of our favorite memories. Even though most of my readers were at the funeral, I would like to share for those of you who did not know Papa.

Papa had a woodshop in his garage and he made all sorts of fun things for kids. He made trucks, trains, slides, play kitchens, Barbie houses--complete with furniture, and the world's largest deck. The deck was huge! Large enough for a handful of little tykes to have Big Wheel races around the perimeter. We often played CHiPs on that deck. (Yes, I am a child of the eighties.)

When I was on my church mission, and when I lived in France, Papa was my most faithful writer. Mostly he wrote about the temperature, mowing lawns, and beans. Beans were his favorite food. But I appreciated every letter; they were always filled with his love. He always showered his grandkids with lots of love. He would always say, "Hello sweet sweet" or "How's my favorite Meredith." (or insert the name of another grandkid.)

It was harder to say good-bye than I thought. He will be missed. The funeral was lovely, and I was very glad to see all my family (except for one brother-in-law, niece, and nephew who were dearly missed). I don't remember when we were last all together. We all got to take turns holding the new babies, we ate lots (which is normal for our gatherings), and remembered our dear Papa. So despite the very sad event, I was glad to be with my family. I didn't take a lot of pictures but I will be posting the ones that I have (or that have been forwarded by relatives) shortly.