Peace in the Valley

Our sweet Grandpa Ford passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning. Of course we love and adore all of our grandparents, but we had an extra-special relationship with Grandpa Ford. Larry's dad was his only child so when he passed away nine years ago, all Grandpa Ford had left were his three grandchildren and they meant the world to him.

I'll admit, it hasn't always been easy; how do you tell a parent they need to stop driving, let alone a grandparent who thinks of you as just a kid? And how do arrange much needed care for him when you all are attending school in different states and he is not willing to move? (the answer is my mom who devoted so much of her life these past few year for helping him. We will always be so grateful)

Grandpa Ford missed wife and his son terribly and wanted nothing more than to be with them again. He had poor health which lead to a very poor quality of life and he was ready to go. We all feel so grateful that it worked out to be just the way he wanted it; at home, with all his grandkids at his side and great grandsons playing on the floor. He was very lucid and talked with each of us, he was even cracking jokes, which is why Larry and Scott have big smiles on their faces in this photo. Then he fell alseep and passed away quitely a few hours later.
The days since then have seemed sort of surreal. We're all happy because we know this was best for Grandpa Ford and he is happy, but there's also a mix of tears because we miss him.

Wednesday night I could not settle Creed down to sleep. I spent over an hour laying with him and he kept telling me, "Somebody coming, Mama!" I didn't think much of it and eventually gave up putting him to sleep at Grandpa's and sent him to my mom's. He woke up at about the exact time Granpa Ford passed away. He was bawling and my mom couldn't comfort him so she brought him back to Grandpa's. The first thing he said to me is, "Somebody's here now, Mama. Somebody's here now." Since then he has told me several times that he misses Grandpa. We miss him too.
It's been so strange being so young and planning a burial, submitting an obitutary, and figuring out Grandpd Ford's estate. He didn't want a funeral, just a small graveside ceremony with just the grandkids. He wanted us to say a prayer dedicating the grave and then he wanted the song "Peace in the Valley" (which none of us had heard of even though everyone from Elvis to Faith Hill seems to have their own version). We did our best to honor his wishes.
After the service we stopped at the Provo cemetery to put some of the flowers on Larry's dad's grave, then it was off to Chuckarama in honor of Grandpa Ford, because it would have been just want he would have wanted.There's so much left to do and we've been busy cleaning out Grandpa's house because keeping busy is a good distraction. It's much easier to focus on the task at hand than to think about what is missing.