Well, I survived my first National Grandparents Day without Grandpa. It was a sad day for me. I wished so badly that I could call him and hear him say "How do you DO?!" as only he could when answering the phone, or even send him a colorful email with large font and lots of exclamation points telling him what a fabulous Grandpa he is. As my uncle said so poignantly at the funeral, he was known for his courage and his encouragement. Two fabulous qualities in a grandparent - ones not easily duplicated. He would always tell me, "You're grand, Rae", and I would always respond back with a smile and say, "So are you - it's in the title".
Today was doubly hard because I ran the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure (for the billionth year in a row) in memory of my stepgrandmother, Judy. For those who have been following this blog since San Diego, you know that Judy died in April of 2003 from breast cancer. I miss her all the time too, and I proudly run that race every year in her honor. Stephen Colbert spoke before the race again this year and as always, he managed to lighten the mood, so that was nice, and then Nancy Brinker (founder of the Susan G. Komen foundation, she is Susan's sister) got us off and running. I ran a nice easy race, got a bunch of great pink swag afterward, and it was a really great atmosphere. We were 25,000 strong, so that's 25,000 people racing toward a cure. It lifts your heart.
Grandparents in general lift my heart. It's such a special relationship, without the tension or baggage of the parent/child relationship, and with a common understanding of family and each other. I am so fortunate to still have 3 wonderful grandparents out there and to all of them I wish a Happy Grandparents Day <3
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