Today, I lost my grandfather...

It was actually 26 years ago today. Wow...so hard to believe. I look back on it, and I know he could never have lived this long. He'd be 100 years old in February, and he was the first grandparent I lost. In fact, until I was almost nineteen years old, I had all four of my grandparents. By the time I was 20 and 3 months, I'd lost three.

My parents were young when I was born. I'm the eldest of five, and Mom was only 21. Dad had just had his 27th birthday a few weeks before, so now they're 66 and 72, respectively. Not bad, considering I will be 45 in two weeks.

I look back breathlessly at the losses of my grandparents from that time. When Grandpa died, Mom was a mere 40 years old--four years younger than I am. Then Dad would lose both of his parents in two weeks not even a year and a half later.

I look back, and I can't even fathom it. Dad was 47, and both his parents were gone. That's unreal to me. I know my parents aren't immortal, and I expect to outlive them, but as I get older and know more and more of my friends who have lost parents, it's very sobering. They're quite healthy, actually. They're even healthier than I am, but the thought of coming to grips with losing them is becoming more and more real to me. I tell them I love them whenever we talk, and we talk often. I just hope I tell them--and show them--often enough. They made many mistakes with me, but they did a lot of things right, too. Mom and Dad, I love you more than I can ever say.