Yes, I know, I never write anything on here, but what better time than now. As many of you might know by now, Michelle's grandfather passed away over the weekend. The guy led a great life - nearly 88 years old, had seven kids, and was married for close to 50 years. We can only hope for such results!

My greatest memory in the eight years of knowing him was the day after Michelle and I were married and we got back to her parent's house. He must have talked to me for two hours about World War II and his time in Pearl Harbor and Hawaii, which is where we were going for our honeymoon. It was the way he told his stories that always stuck with me. It was never "when I was your age" or "walking four miles to school." It was always some twist or turn along the way that usually included him getting in trouble or working his way out of some comical mess. I think my favorite story was him sneaking on a bus and then into Ebbetts Field for baseball games when he was a kid. The only problem was that from where they had to watch the game at the field under the stands, they usually had to watch out for all the rats. But it was summer and it was baseball!

The other story that I'll always remember was him telling me about falling while taking out his trash when he was still living in his Warminster apartment. He drove his car over to the dumpster and while trying to move over and drop off the trash, he fell. Luckily, he had his phone on him and called his friend that was nearby. When his friend came over and tried to help, he fell over too. It's never funny when people that age fall, but the way he told it, it was like pins at a bowling alley. I guess that was the key to his life - no matter how many times you knocked him down, he always got back up and played the game again.

I feel horrible for Michelle and her family to have this happen. When we first started dating, Michelle would get her Jetta serviced near his apartment and stay for the day to hang out while waiting for her car. She was always so excited to go hang out with him. "I can't wait until you meet him," she used to tell me. "He's just so funny and fun to be with." It's such a different experience than what I've had. I had some pretty significant grandparent role models, but I only remember meeting one of my grandparents and that was only once. Michelle has all these experiences - like dancing with him at her wedding - that she'll have forever. It's hard to ask for more than 32 years with a grandparent, but sometimes you just can't help it. 

Anna won't remember her great-grandfather in her mind. But luckily for her, he's everywhere in everything her family does. And we've got so many great pictures of the two of them from the past year to prove it. Four generations in some pictures. While Anna's sensed that something has happened this week with all of us, she obviously doesn't know what is going on. So there she is, with a smile and a laugh for all of us, all the time. It's what we all need right now - the passing of one full life into the great beginnings of another.