On May 25, 2011 my beloved Grandpa Gilbert passed away. Amazingly, it was only 1 year and 3 days after the death of Grandma.
Since my kids hate to miss those last few (party) days of school, Trent and I made the long drive to Othello, Washington on our own again (thanks to my friends and Grandma Ginger for taking care of the kids!).
I know funerals are supposed to be sad events, but this one was really more of a bitter-sweet experience. Honestly, it felt more like a celebration of a life well-lived. Anytime the Gilberts get together we have fun (in a very loud sort of way). Even at funerals.
Because grandpa served in the merchant marines he was buried with full military honors. He was a cook aboard his ship-- a very good one from what we've been told!
One of the saddest moments of the trip was the realization that I may never visit or stay at this wonderful memory-filled home again. So before we left I spent some time taking pictures.
Their house sits on a full acre of grass. I can still picture grandpa riding his lawn mower around the yard. Sometimes he would let me sit on his lap.
Grandma loved flowers and always had beds full of them. To this day I think of her every time I see a dahlia. When she passed away last year, I took a couple of perennials from her garden and planted them in my own yard.
When I was young, we used to visit every summer and every other Christmas. Many hours were spent near this irrigation ditch, playing in the water and looking for tadpoles.
My favorite place to play was in the potato cellar, swinging on the rope that hung from the rafters and digging holes in the walls to drive our toy cars. Grandpa was pretty upset the day Jeff and Chris used their BB guns to shoot out the light bulbs! I was so sad when it burned down-- I don't even have a picture of it.
This is me with my brother Chris standing near the grain bins down the road from the house. When Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1980 there was more than a foot of ash on the ground surrounding them.
Here is the shop where all of the farm equipment was kept in good running order and where they filled up with gas. ( The roof was badly damaged from a storm this past year. )
Othello is a farming community, so this is a pretty typical scene:
I spent many hours enjoying the shade of this tree and wishing we had big trees of our own back home!
Grandpa built the house with his own hands. We always thought it was cool that he put the initial G in the hearth.
Finally (and perhaps most importantly), a picture of the pink bathroom.
I might need to explain this one:
Usually in the evenings, a mom would end up bathing a child (or two or three). Someone else would inevitably step into the room to chat with that mom, staying awhile in the process. Eventually another would join, and another and another, until cousins, aunts, grandma (and sometimes uncles) were all gathered around in a circle on the plush blue carpet-- laughing and talking. It is a great memory that I love!
Love you Grandma & Grandpa! 'Til we meet again!
