a promise

Grandpa Skies

One of the saddest goodbyes I have ever said was to my Grandpa yesterday. My relatives and I buried items with Grandpa that reminded us of him or stories we had with him. A couple people brought blue marbles, dice, fishing hooks, a golf ball, poems, letters, a pizza box, and a newspaper. This is the poem I wrote for him.
 

Grandpa Skies

The time has come to close your eyes
And take your place up in the skies.
We understand and try to see
But it is still a known mystery
Why heroes like you have to die.

Down here sings a chorus of cries,
Up there to you a breeze of sighs.
Although you are joyous and free,
We will miss you here.

Only echoes are our replies
To our voices' pathetic tries.
You are more than a memory,
Forever in our hearts you'll be.
Until the time we see you rise,
We will miss you here.

He will be missed...

 

After many years on earth, my Grandpa Premo passed away this past Saturday. My family and most of my extended were in the room when he passed, and I wish I could have been there too. It's hard being so far away from my family during this hurting time.

Grandpa Premo was one of my favorite people in the world, he is my grandpa after all! There are so many qualities about him that I, and many others, love; qualities that make him absolutely precious to us.

When I think of my grandpa, I think of a man who always put his family first and took care of them no matter what. He was always there for us. I knew I was always welcome at their place and we would have a good time.

When I was younger, I looked forward to whenever we got to go to Bemidji and see my grandparents. They made us great food and we played a ton of games :) One time when we were going to Bemidji, we thought it would be a fun idea to surprise them. So we pull up in the driveway, rang the doorbell, and ran away leaving Jett by their front door. Grandpa opens the door and we could hear him say "there's no one here but a dumb black dog". He obviously didn't recognize Jett ;) then we came back around the corner laughing and Grandma and Grandpa were so thrilled to see us!

The first thing that will always pop into my head when I hear the word Grandpa is marbles. Yes, marbles. The game that Grandpa made and everyone in our family knows how to play :) I even got my own board mailed to me at college, sparking some interesting comments on my oddly shaped package. And all of my friends at college know the game marbles as 'The Grandpa Game'. They'll ask, "Can we play grandpa?" It's so great.

Another memory I am so happy I got to share with my grandpa is when my cousins Lynsi, Wendy, and I got anchor tattoos like his in honor of him. It was cool having him there with us :)

I am going to miss him, but I am glad he isn't in pain anymore. He left us with many great memories and the best example of what a true father, grandfather, and great-grandfather should be.

Rest in peace Grandpa...you will forever be in our hearts.

Walter Kenneth Premo

December 22nd, 1927-August 18th, 2012

run run run

I finally got to run today for the first time this summer :) It felt amazing, but  I have definitely lost a lot of my endurance :( I went to the doctor today and had x-rays done and my knee looks good! So happy that I can get back to running again!

making history

Like I said before, I love the Olympics.

However, this is how I feel sometimes while I am watching it: 

Hahaha it's so true. Most of the girls who compete in gymnastics are 15-18 years old, and they are getting Olympic medals! I think of all the training and dedication it has taken them to get there and feel like I have done nothing. Oh well, we all have different paths in life I guess.

I love watching the athletes make history. I mean, 22 Olympic medals for Michael Phelps, and 18 of them gold??! I think he can be very content with being the greatest Olympian of all time! Amazing.

I wonder...

Sometimes I wonder how different my life would be if I still had a horse. However, I don't even know how I could afford it right now!

I went to fair today and it was so great to be there. I haven't had a horse there for a couple of years. It felt really weird the first year when my friends still had their horses and I didn't. I missed it a lot. I still do. It wasn't even the showing part that was so fun for me...I loved it because I was around horses and my best friends for five days without ever leaving. I always had a great time there!

I miss having a horse for so many reasons...I can't wait to graduate college and finally get my own again :)