Grandparents Update

I don't even know where to begin because its been so long since I made an entry on here. You'd think if I took the time to update this on a regular basis, that I would see that it would be easier and I'd do it. It is partly because some of the things I feel I need to get off my chest are so hard to talk or write about, but I'll try...

Well, its been about 14 months since Granddad passed away (March 2006). As hard as it was to lose Grandmom a few months earlier, the day he died, his funeral, and the month or so surrounding his death was the hardest time of my life. We were very close, and having him pass was both devastating and welcomed (as he had been suffering from Alzheimer's and a myriad of other medical issues for a few years).

I'll never get over missing them. They were there my entire life and as a child it was rare to go even a day without seeing them. It became less frequent as I got older but we still always saw each other. The last couple years of their lives, of course, I was there every day helping care for them.

I always pictured them at my wedding. When I was younger and assumed everyone got married and had kids, I pictured them holding my first child. I'm not interested in having human children anymore, but these are still dreams unrealized. I am, however, very glad they were able to meet, get to know, and approve of my partner during their last few years. That will forever mean a lot to me. They told me more than once that they were happy I had found "such a nice young man" ..that still makes me smile. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I've ever told that to him.

They were always there for anything I needed or anything ANYONE needed - family or friend, or even acquaintance. So selflessly giving all of themselves every day. Its what made them truly happy ..yet at the same time they weren't doing it for themselves. Its hard to explain. It seems so rare to see this in a person, let alone two.

There is so much to tell about them and their lives and I could go on and on for years and never come anywhere close to doing them the justice they deserve. I'll try to go into greater detail with stories in the future.

Almost every day I think to myself ..if I could just be half the person my grandparents were, maybe someday I will make a difference in someone's life as they did in mine and so many countless others.


R.I.P. Floy Burgess Perry Dauenhauer (November 1914 - September 2005) and Floyd Lester Dauenhauer (November 1914 - March 2006)