Loss

I was unexpectedly absent from the blog last week because my family suffered another loss. Just 10 months after I lost my father, my husband has lost his. It's nearly impossible to comprehend.

It's kind of hard to write about my father-in-law because we were not all that close. He was a very successful businessman who was the president of a printing company that served the hospitality industry for many years. His dedication to his job kept him busy when my husband was young but he still found time to teach my husband to play softball and to attend many sporting events with his family. The NY Islanders hockey team was a particular favorite and they were season ticket holders during the teams dynasty years. My husband will remember those games fondly forever. My father-in-law loved to play too. He was a competitive sportsman, and loved a good round of golf - especially when there was a bet involved. He traveled extensively and lived a full and active life.

The most important thing I can say about my father-in-law is that he was a wonderful grandfather to my girls. They knew Papa Ronnie as someone who loved to take them to movies, walks with his beloved dog Gizmo, the pumpkin farm and lots of other fun places.

He got a special thrill out of taking them to dinner, often to really great steak houses, where he would smile as they would dig into a juicy steak. He loved to share a good meal with them. He made every minute of his visits with his grand-daughters count and loved to spend time with them.

Even as I write this I know that one of the most difficult tasks lies ahead of us since our daughters are away at camp and won't hear the news until we pick them up later this week. They will be so hurt and sad and I hate that they will have to deal with losing both of their grandfathers in less than a year.
It's just not fair.

These pictures aren't very good but, as we went through the stacks of photos that we've collected through the years we found that, as was the case with my dad, we didn't have many of my father-in-law. He was only 73 when he died and we had expected many more years.

A friend was at our house last night and told me that he was offered 2 tickets to see the Nationals yesterday but he declined them. His daughter, aware of our loss, insisted that she'd rather go see her grandfather. If our experience inspires more people to savor the moments with their relatives - old and young - then that's a good thing. Take tons of pictures of everyone. Ask all the questions you may have. Enjoy every moment and file it away because you just never know.