Good To Be Home

I spent the week in Ohio for my grandma's funeral.  The service was nice and
it was great to visit with family I don't get to see very often.  I am as
certain as ever that my grandma is resting comfortably and reuniting with a bit
of family herself.  I had the opportunity to say a few words at the funeral; I
want to capture those words here as a way to pass them on to my kids when they
someday come across this site while surfing the web.

 "A little over a year ago Katie and I were contemplating new
jobs, a new house and other life changes to create a better situation to raise
our newborn son.  To say the least, it was a very confusing
time.

Around the same time, we took a trip to Richmond, Virginia to see Katie's
parents.  During that trip, I watched the interaction between my son and his
grandparents.  I recognized two smiles as they played.  My son's smile was the
same smile I would get when I got to spend the night with grandma and grandpa
Ducey.  The smile on my in-laws' faces, that was the smile grandma and grandpa
had anytime one of their grandchildren walked through the door.

On the drive back to North Carolina, many of the confusions in my life at
that time cleared up.  We needed to move our son closer to his grandparents.  So
we did.  I'm sure my mom and dad would say our geography was off, but I'm also
sure they supported our move.

My sisters and I were blessed to grow up living next to our grandparents. 
Those days provided so many memories and lessons.  As I've grown older, some of
the memories are not so clear, but the lessons come in to focus more each
day.

I think the greatest lesson of all was how to maintain a very simple focus in
life.  The same focus outlined in the reading from Matthew today - living a life
of service to others (Matthew 25:31-46).  I used to characterize my grandparents
as people persons, but I know today that they just cared about other people as
much as they did themselves.  I remember my grandmother as someone who loved her
family above all else, with maybe an extra dose for her grandchildren.  I
remember her as a nurse who cared for the sick.  I remember her as someone who
would do anything for a friend as well as a complete stranger.

We will all miss grandma Ducey, but their is great comfort in knowing she has
heard the words I long to hear - the words I will raise my boys to hear - 
 
Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been
faithful over a few things, i will make thee ruler over many things - enter thou
into the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:23)."

 My grandparents all planted wonderful seeds in my life.  Those seeds will
continue to grow in the lives of Elliott and Ian, with what I am sure will be
healthy doses of fertilizer from their own grandparents.

 It was great to get home and see Elliott, Katie and Ian.  I have attached
some pictures Katie took of Elliott while I was gone.  His personality blossoms
more each day.  I must admit, there are days when those blooms appear to be
dandelions growing in the garden of the terrible twos, but he is precious
nonetheless.