Random musings by Allison...

So as I was making my nightly chocolate milk with soy milk and sugar free Nesquik I had a random thought. When do you become "grown up" enough that you don't just wipe off the spoon you used to scoop out the Nesquik and put it back in the drawer? I mean, maybe some of you already are, but to me that spoon was perfectly clean...only I can't imagine/remember my mom ever doing that. Along those same lines are drinking the milk out of your cereal bowl and making your bed. Maybe I'm alone and am the last 27 year old, married mother of one that does those things... oh well, drinking my cereal milk makes me happy! (don't worry dad, I don't do it at the table, only in the kitchen)

Another random musing, though not quite as light-hearted: Death doesn't really make sense at any age. My grandfather died Sunday. While he was old, the fact that he died two days ago was a surprise. It hasn't really sunk in. We are leaving for east Texas for the funeral and I kind of feel like we're just going to visit them. Like we're packing up for one of our typical family trips. Growing up is strange. You wait your whole life to do it and yet when you're here there are so many times I'd rather go back to being a kid.

I have so many good memories as a child hanging out during the summer in east Texas. My grandparents owned a country store/gas station that was on the property next to their house right off route 69 in what I lovingly refer to as "Podunk, TX." The water tastes funny, the air is thick, the humidity is crazy, the whole place smells like a wonderful mixture of fresh dirt and pine trees, the dirt is red, life is simpler, it's a magical place to a child. We spent our summers making pottery out of the red clay, running through old deserted saw mills that backed up to my grandparents property, wandering through pine forests collecting pine cones, running back and forth to the store to get cokes, ice cream, and pecan pinwheels, learning to sew, playing with cousins, and most importantly: watching satellite TV! :-) What a life!

My grandfather is one of the holiest men I have ever known. With a limited education he was not one of those PhD Bible scholars. He was Dail McGuire, faithful servant and follower of Christ. He could quote almost any verse in the Bible. He had STRONG faith. While I didn't always agree with his extremely conservative view points, he was always willing to listen to my opinions. He would tell me how he felt, but never straight out tell me I was wrong. About two years ago, my sisters and I took a trip out there by ourselves. I spent over six hours sitting in the living room discussing the Bible with Grandaddy and listening to his life story. He told me all about growing up, how he didn't really realize they were poor, how he dropped out of school to work, how he met my grandmother, how he became a Christian later in life. It is one of the best memories I have and I will treasure it forever.

Losing him this week has made me miss my granny that died right before Bruce was born. It makes me so sad that Bruce won't get to know either of them. They were both wonderful people who I look forward to reuniting with in heaven again someday.

If you've made it this far in my novel, please pray for my family. While thankful that my grandaddy is no longer suffering, it's still hard for his family left behind. Thursday will be an emotional day. I'm not completely sure what my grandmother will do now.