Oh, and there was a bottle of peppermint schnapps on the table
Today, my grandpa sat down on the couch to watch the Western movies channel and died.
He kept saying that's how he wanted to go.
My sister, her friend, and my daughter were home with him. They noticed something was wrong when Grandpa stopped snoring. By the time the ambulance came, there was nothing they could do.
I called to see why my sister had called me eight times and not left a message. Tim IM'd me and said she sounded upset. I think I ran into the front office at work and yelled "MY GRANDPA'S DEAD ON THE COUCH. I HAVE TO GO." Thankfully, they drove me. It's a three minute drive, but I think I would have gone off the road.
My mom had gone to get an oil change. She has no cell phone. I'm sort of glad she wasn't here. She's a nurse and she would have started trying to bring him back. He definitely would not have approved.
I didn't know what to do about Tess. You don't want to tell a kid "Grandpa went to sleep and now he's with the angels." That's how neurotic insomnia happens. But... yeah. That's sort of what happened.
We held his hands and wept while the cops stood around looking at the floor.
When mom finally called to check in... Well... My sister answered the phone. She wasn't holding up very well. I yelled at her to give me the phone, but it was too late.
A few minutes later, we heard sirens. My mom had done about 70 in a 40 zone, riding on the sidewalk, etc. to get here. She jumped out of the car and ran. I tried to explain to the cop why he should FOAD, but he was too busy radioing our address to listen. Fuck that guy. Luckily, the TPD guys took a break from staring at the floor to make him go away.
We're all wandering around making bad jokes and wailing. Tess went to her dad's house to spend time with her brothers and sister.
My sister locked herself in her room and started listening to sad Boys II Men songs. (HOW CAN YOU NOT LAUGH AT THAT? I AM NOT WEIRD.)
And that's it.
[ETA: Grandpa-style hilarity in the comments]
He kept saying that's how he wanted to go.
My sister, her friend, and my daughter were home with him. They noticed something was wrong when Grandpa stopped snoring. By the time the ambulance came, there was nothing they could do.
I called to see why my sister had called me eight times and not left a message. Tim IM'd me and said she sounded upset. I think I ran into the front office at work and yelled "MY GRANDPA'S DEAD ON THE COUCH. I HAVE TO GO." Thankfully, they drove me. It's a three minute drive, but I think I would have gone off the road.
My mom had gone to get an oil change. She has no cell phone. I'm sort of glad she wasn't here. She's a nurse and she would have started trying to bring him back. He definitely would not have approved.
I didn't know what to do about Tess. You don't want to tell a kid "Grandpa went to sleep and now he's with the angels." That's how neurotic insomnia happens. But... yeah. That's sort of what happened.
We held his hands and wept while the cops stood around looking at the floor.
When mom finally called to check in... Well... My sister answered the phone. She wasn't holding up very well. I yelled at her to give me the phone, but it was too late.
A few minutes later, we heard sirens. My mom had done about 70 in a 40 zone, riding on the sidewalk, etc. to get here. She jumped out of the car and ran. I tried to explain to the cop why he should FOAD, but he was too busy radioing our address to listen. Fuck that guy. Luckily, the TPD guys took a break from staring at the floor to make him go away.
We're all wandering around making bad jokes and wailing. Tess went to her dad's house to spend time with her brothers and sister.
My sister locked herself in her room and started listening to sad Boys II Men songs. (HOW CAN YOU NOT LAUGH AT THAT? I AM NOT WEIRD.)
And that's it.
[ETA: Grandpa-style hilarity in the comments]