Time is sweet...

Aunt Dixie flew to New York to spend time with her daughter Dayna and grand kids, so we all took turns taking dinners out to grandpas and visiting with him. He LOVED seeing Raelinn everyday. As soon as we would show up he'd say "where's my red headed baby at??!" (And of course there would be horse racing on the tv) He would talk to her, and was always concerned about her. (If the air conditioning was blowing on her, if she had a blanket to cover up with etc) Thats one thing I never want to forget about him, how much he loves babies and little kids. We got his garden all planted and blocked off to where the dogs couldn't get to it. It was only a few tomato plants, nothing close to the enormous gardens he used to grow when I was a kid living out at the ranch. There were rows among rows of corn, potatoes, peas, carrots, and tomatoes. He is a grouchy old man sometimes, but has such a gentle soul. He is the generation that actually worked for a living. He told me the hardest day of work he did was shoeing (shawing...whatever it's called) 39 mules in one day. I love to watch Tj trim or shoe horses and it is HARD work!! That must have been a LONG day as it takes around an hour to do one! A few days ago my uncle Dean confirmed the story by saying "one day I had to hold 39 mules for dad to shoe" I have wanted to interview him and get some family history from him, but his memory is fading and you can tell it frustrates him. Rather than family history, he told me stories of the racetrack, and mining turquoise. He has a true passion for mining and he has passed that same love on to my dad, uncles and now my brothers, big and little :) He sure loves my Aunt Dixie, especially her being his only daughter! He missed her when she was gone. He told me about how he ran a trap line every morning (on foot), came home and milked cows, then would walk to school. He's always been a hard worker. I admirer and love him so much. He's 87 now...and it breaks my heart knowing his time is coming to a close on this earth, but I know we have the opportunity to live as a forever family. I'm grateful for the time I got to visit with him, and I hope I have a few more opportunities like that before he passes on.