Today was my G-Pa's funeral...

My G-Pa: I realize many people have not had any relationship with a grandparent. I feel very fortunate to have had an incredibly close one with my grandfather.

     The very first thing you need to know about my grandpa is that I couldn’t call him Grandpa when I was little, so I resorted to Pa. And, that stuck. I always called him that, and my great-grandpa, well, I called him Deny Pa (because his name was Deny), and that also stuck. Many of our family members called them both those names that I lovingly gave them.
     My Pa was the one human being in this world who loved me absolutely unconditionally. He never in his entire life judged me or anything that I did. He was such a wise soul in that he always could read between the lines and find the heart of the matter of everything.
     I lived with him when I was very young, four-years-old, and those are some of my happiest moments in my life. I remember when he wanted me to stop sucking my finger, and so he told me that I had to first suck my big toe for a week, and then I could suck my finger. Of course, I couldn’t suck my big toe, but boy he tried to convince me that I could and should.
     My grandparents had an old lemon tree on the edge of their yard, and I remember how badly I wanted to pick the fruit. Of course, they did not want me to pick it too early, so once again my Pa devised a way to get me to do what he wanted. He told me there were snakes that lived under the tree, so I was too scared to go out there and pick any of the lemons. Of course, this semi-backfired on him because when it really was OK, I still wouldn’t go near that tree!
     I have fond memories of my Pa coming out and visiting us when we were young kids and lived in California. Truly he was bigger than life, a big Texan cowboy, truly. He wore his cowboy hat and stood over six feet tall. I cherished every moment we had to spend with him. He always had the best stories to tell, and he was such a jokester.
     In high school, I spent an entire summer with my Pa down in Texas. That is one of my best summers ever. We had lots of fun on all sorts of adventures.
     We fished in the International Channel in the Gulf of Mexico. I freaked out when I saw what I thought were sharks, but ended up being a pod of dolphins. We even spent the night out on the boat. That was such a fun trip.
     Pa had saved all of his change for years in a coffee can, and he gave it all to me so long as I rolled it all. It took forever, and I think I ended up with almost three hundred dollars for spending money that summer.
     We also always made our own Peanut Buster Parfaits every single night. It was our treat once dinner and chores were done.
     Then, the following year I had Cody. I will never forget when my Pa called me at the hospital. He was so proud of me, and he said, “Trisha, you were the first to make me grand and now you made me great!”
     Several years ago, the boys and I took a road trip to Texas. By far, hands down, and any other cliché you care to insert here, that was the BEST trip and time of my life. The boys echo that sentiment, as well.
     Our trip was an adventure that I will share with you in another blog on another day. But, the destination, Texas and Pa, was surely the highlight.
     We stayed with him at Fish Camp, which meant lots of fishing, shooting snakes, capturing tarantulas, riding three-wheelers, driving around, swimming, all sorts of adventures that my boys (and me) cherish!! That doesn’t even count all the yummy food we ate, as my Pa is one of the best cooks and BBQers on the planet. You haven’t eaten anything until you have tried his homemade deep-fried catfish!
     I have learned so many lessons from my Pa. I have learned to love and be loved unconditionally. I have learned to laugh and make others laugh. I have learned to live a life without regret and without boundaries (like age or gender) holding me back. Simply I have learned. I will miss him so much.