It's been a few weeks, since my Grandpa Irv went to be with Jesus. Over the last few weeks, I've been blessed to hear stories, go down memory lane, and think about legacy. I want to take a few minutes of your time to share some parts of his legacy that I will cherish, and some of the memories I have with him.
My grandpa has taught me a lot of things, one of them being how to love. Way back when they were young Grandpa Irv saw this cute girl at church camp, and later knocked her books over at school to get her attention. That was the beginning of their story, and before you know it they fell in love. They got married in 1955 and the rest, as they say is history. They had 3 beautiful daughters and very busy lives. They both worked in the schools, and Grandpa Irv coached basketball, they were involved with church, dinner clubs, bridge and much more. Through it all Grandpa Irv loved all three girls, and loved his wife Pat, with all his heart. I've heard stories of how great of a husband he is, and has gotten to witness it throughout my life, but paid most attention to it this last year.
I've lived in Arizona the last two years, and this last fall Irv and Pat moved into a wonderful and beautiful assisted living place, called Generations at Agritopia…I like to call it a cruise on land. If you know someone who is looking for a place, I 100% recommend it. Anyways, I've always loved spending time with my grandparents, and after a break-up, my schedule…what do you know…opened up…a little. So I decided to make a tradition of Monday nights with the St. Johns. I'd head over for dinner and oftentimes after dinner we'd sit by the fire or watch the movie that was playing in the theater room. Through this experience I got to witness the love they had all the time at dinner and around others. You could just tell how much love Grandpa Irv had for Grandma Pat. It's been a great testament of love, especially these last few years, as my Grandma's Alzehimer's becomes more pronounced. Even with forgetfulness and such, he still loved her with all of his heart, and you could just see that if you spent some time with them. In fact, at Generations, they were known as "The Lovebirds"-> I've attached a video where you can see a quick glimpse of the love they have for each other during Valentine's Day (when they renewed their vows) and got to dance together. If you can't see it, I apologize for it not working :(
Speaking of dancing, that is a memory I'll cherish with my Grandpa Irv. As a girl, it is always so nice to be asked to dance. I also have a love for the 50's and that whole, era, which is the era they fell in love. I was secretly hoping to get asked to dance with Grandpa Irv and before I knew it, he was walking over to me asking for my hand to dance. I was happy to dance with him, and quickly realized that I had a lot of learning with dancing and the footwork, but Grandpa Irv was a good teacher. As I was dancing with him, my mind drifted off thinking about my wedding someday and how I'd love to dance with him at my wedding, yet know it may not happen, because I'm single and he's in his 80s, thinking I have to meet a guy, date awhile, get engaged, then get married, and that all takes time. I had hopes that he'd make it, and was leaning more on the side that he would, because he's healthy. I do however, have the brain where I tend to look at all the outcomes, and be prepared just in case. So I soaked in the moment, and cherished it. Fast-forward a few months and we find ourselves at the Mother's Day celebration at Agritopia. Once again, there is fun dancing going on and this loving Grandpa walks over and takes me out to the dance floor, and I absolutely love it. My mind of course wandered again, but I cherished it, and that was the last time we'll dance here on Earth. I will get to join him again one day (hopefully in the far future), dancing on the streets of gold in Heaven.
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| Valentine's Day Dance |
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| Our Last Dance... |
I wanted to share a story I heard over the last few weeks that really speaks to my grandpa's character. So he was a basketball coach and teacher. Around CHRISTmas one year after practice the team noticed all their CHRISTmas money that was left in their pockets was missing. The coaches and captains went to work to find out who took the money. Once they found out, the captains thought the player who took it should be kicked off the team, because it was thousands of dollars. However, my grandpa knew the background of the player who took the money and he had a rough home life, and basketball was his safe haven, his escape, something he was good at. In a world where not a lot was going right for this player, basketball was the one thing that was. So Coach St. John kept him on the team, and the player had to either give or pay back all the money that was stolen. I would love to know where he is now and how his life played out and then take a look at how it could have been. Whether these actions helped give him hope for a better future, or was a safe haven for the here and now, Grandpa Irv had a great heart for people.
I also wanted to talk about Grandpa Irv's faith. Growing up you're a child, and oftentimes by default, or protection of innocence, don't get included in the "adult" conversations of different struggles. I knew my Grandpa was a man of faith, but I got to see his faith really raw and stripped down this year, and I really liked the vulnerability he showed. We should all be more vulnerable with our faith. It was CHRISTmas Eve, and we were at church together. Our church handed out a copy of, Plan B by Pete Wilson to everyone who attended. The tagline on the front of the book said, "What do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought he would?" I remember sitting by grandpa at one point and him confessing to me he's had a hard time understanding why God would allow Pat to go through Alzheimer's. No one planned for this to happen, but amidst the trails he still followed and loved the Lord and his one an only lady- Pat. I don't have this in here for a pity story or anything. This is in here because it shows real life. It showed me that my grandpa is just like me, someone who has highs and lows, good days and bad days, someone who is real. I never got the chance to tell him how much I appreciated that conversation, but I did. I think we can learn from it too. When we take time to be vulnerable, it can build our prayer community and our relationships can dive deeper. I don't have the answer about my grandma Pat, on why this is happening. I pray for a miracle, for it to happen at a slower pace, but also for God's will to be done. As much as it isn't how we envisioned life, I believe there is a purpose behind this, and God can teach us a lesson. During times of hardship and struggle, we have two options: to turn, run and blame or to cling to the Lord like our life depends on it, because…it does. God wants you to have a relationship with Him and share your struggles with Him and walk with Him hand in hand. And when it seems too hard, He'll carry you. All you have to do is ask Him. Maybe this is all happening for us to grow stronger, cherish the time we have with family more, even remember the fun and innocence of a child. I am going to remember memories I make with my grandma now, and before. She is a strong beautiful woman, and she still is the strongest woman I know in the midst of these trials. She knows what is going on, even if she's not always aware, but she is strong and a fighter and I love her so much, and her Grandpa Irv did too and always will.
I want to just end this with random pictures with Grandpa Irv from throughout my life, with little captions. Enjoy, memories of Grandpa Irv-> through Jessie's Eyes.
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| Birthday Dinner at Texas Roadhouse 2010 |
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At a relative's getting rid of old clothes:
Here is a swimsuit he was showing me
from back in the day. |
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| Helping with the chores of picking oranges #springbreak |
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| My confirmation |
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| Labor Day on the lake 2011 |
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| Teaching Grandpa Irv and my dad how to "plank" 2011 |
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Something I inherited from
Grandpa Irv #lefthandedshot |
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| Loving Couple at Olive Garden |
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| My goofy grandpa =) |
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The ball from the Twins game that fell on the floor after
my brother being distracted with Grandpa Irv boxing out to
try and get it. Happy Campers here =) |
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| CHRISTmas Eve Candlelight 2014 |
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4th of July one year, lighting a sparkler
before heading home to bed=) |
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One day Grandpa came down with
this awesome shirt, and a flower in a
can =) |
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| You may now Kiss the Bride- Valentines Day 2014 #vowrenewal |
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| This is actually from the year my brother had his brain aneurism (CHRISTmas Miracle post), this is also to remember all the times we'd sneak on the course and put after golfing hours =) |
I love you Grandpa Irv, and here are just a few of the memories I'll cherish forever <3
- Jessie
