When they play that music, I turn the other way
Deep exhale. What a week and a half. The day after my last post, life became a whirlwind for a short time as my family and loved ones and I coped with the loss of a wonderful man by the name of Leslie R. Brantingham. He was simply known to me, Kyle, Kate, Matthew, Codi & Keegan as "Grampa." He actually was Codi & Keegan's, but he played the role for the rest of us for the last 10 years. His loss was sudden but peaceful, overwhelming but accepted. To me, his death symbolized the end of a wonderful part of our lives. The summers of yardwork and letter-stuffing, the lazy days and all the childhood memories and traditions that circled so much around Grampa and the Thompson family. We are older now, and we have responsibilities and jobs and independence. I wasn't ready to shut that door yet, but its closed and locked and now we must deal with it. I was happy to ignore my own emotions for a while by being put to work at Grampa's house on Saturday, setting up and cleaning up a group meal for the family during a break between visitations. It was a special time for them to sit around and laugh and chat right in Grampa's own house, and I was so glad to have been able to make it a less stressful time for them. The funeral itself was the most touching I've ever been to. It was purely Grampa, and he was absolutely with us. Codi and Keegan gave beautiful speeches, and we all got emotional just looking and listening to how grown up those kids are. The last 10 years have flown by. Bagpipes play "Amazing Grace" and its over, and he's gone.
I have spent the rest of my time working, training, and taking care of myself and my body as best I can. I only have a little over $700 left to raise by the end of May, so I am excited about that. For those of you who haven't yet, its www.active.com/donate/tntmi/karibeth
Tomorrow I am running the Borgess 1/2 Marathon, which will be my second race ever, my first being the Campus Classic in the fall. I think it will be a good opportunity to gauge my progress and figure out how much work I need to do before the big June 18 rolls around. I know that May will fly right by and I will be in Alaska before I know it.
I am looking forward to friends coming home, and I am going to try and squeeze as much out of the summer as possible. I feel like this fall is the beginning of the rest of my life, and while I am excited, I am frightened that with that new experience, I will be shutting other doors and walking away from them forever. I hope that this is not the case, but with living comes sacrifice.
Love you all.