This Week in History

This week in history, a great man was born.

My Pop Pop.

My grandma took care of me every week day until I went to Kindergarten. Weekends, however, were grandma and pop pop time. Every weekend in the summer they camped at the local state forest, and my sister and I were invited to spend the night.

My very best memories involve our times at D.A.R. We hiked, biked, canoed, played Frisbee, played badminton, took night walks. We did the activities at the Nature Center, discovered mica, saw blue herons, ducks and bears, and ate delicious camp food. My grandparents had done all of these things with their four children, and then they did them with us.

They were more like a second pair of parents than they were grandparents. They were 43 when I was born, and only in their 50's when we did the above activities. They were very unlike everyone else's grandparents, and in all the best ways.

My grandma became ill and spent a few years in hospitals. Pop pop visited her faithfully. It was a very tough time on our family, but their strong love was evident.

My junior year of college I was required to interview an older person and write a paper, tying in the things we had learned in class. I learned so much about him when I did that interview. From that point on, I viewed him differently. I admired him even more for all that he had done for his family over the years.

My grandma passed, and then his daughter (my mom) passed. More rough patches for the family, but he was able to find love again after some time in a friendly, beautiful woman named Marge. Our family was quick to recognize the jewel that she was, and I still thank God for bringing her into our lives.

When I became a stay at home mom, and started visiting Pop Pop and Marge with Rosie, our relationship grew even stronger. After years of him working, then of me going to college and then working, we were finally able to see each other on a pretty regular basis. While I loved being with my Rosie, I missed being around other adults, and seeing them helped me with that greatly.

I love watching my kids with Pop Pop. He is a kid at heart and will do just about anything to get a laugh out of them. They love both him and Marge to pieces!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the many times that Pop Pop has helped me out. Last Spring I had to call him because my muffler all but fell off my car. He came to my rescue in no time.

This week in history, a great man was born. I am so proud to call him my Pop Pop.