Grandaddy

Well it's been a rough couple of weeks around our house. I finished up my class in Athens, got home, and almost immediately my Grandaddy has a heart attack. He lives in Florida so we waited a couple of days to see how things were panning out before we made the trip down there. On July 3, Drew and I went to a Braves game with some friends to both celebrate the 4th and Drew's birthday which are the same day. We got an early start to the holiday because, seriously, Wednesday is the worst day for a holiday!! Anyway, at the game my dad called and said it looked like we needed to get to down to Florida pretty quickly. My parents, Karen, and I left at the crack of dawn on the 4th to drive down (yes, totally skipping the holiday and my fiance's bday).
Throughout our visit he was very up and down, having issues with his heart, kidneys, oxygen, and fluid in his lungs, levels. Friday, the day before we left, was the best we'd seen him. He was asking about my wedding, commenting on the tennis match that was on, calling us pretty, and making jokes about his activity to-do list on the hospital board which only said "bed rest". We regrettably had to get home the next day to get my sister back to school and get my parents ready to go back to work.
On Monday night, we got word that he was was quickly plummeting in health as everything seemed to be shutting down. Later that night he passed away.
I realize people probably do not want to hear every detail about this but I guess it is helping me process everything. He was doing so much better when we left him that I am left astonished at how it ended. He was 81, which is quite young in our family. He was one of the funniest, sweetest men I have ever known. He played for Georgia Tech in college and was an excellent golfer. He left behind my amazing Nana, 3 kids (including my dad), 6 grandchildren, and 3 (and a 1/2) great-grandchildren. It is going to be very strange going to visit Florida without him there to greet me with a bear hug. I don't think it has quite hit me yet, but I'm dreading for when it does.
It does give me comfort to know he has gone to be with Jesus and actually brings a little smile to my face. It is going to be a long road of recovery for our family, but I am glad he doesn't have to go through the grueling recovery he was in for.

My beloved Grandaddy

Silly faces and pumpkin carving