An Unexpected Trip

Amanda and I spent the past weekend in Longview/Arlington. We got to watch my son play a lot of baseball on Friday and Saturday. It was nice, since we had never seen him play before. He's a pretty good little ball player. Those kids are pretty intense about their baseball, granted, it is an all-star team. On Saturday night, we drove back to Arlington, with plans to return to Lubbock on Sunday and spend the week preparing for the big trip to San Diego and Las Vegas. Things didn't go exactly as planned.

On Sunday morning, as we were starting to stir, my mom brought some unsettling news to the bedroom door. My grandfather had passed away that morning from a stroke. We had just spent a good deal of time with my grandparents the past two days, so it was hard to believe that mere hours after the last time we had seen him, he was gone. I think this was the third stroke he'd had, and the second in the the last few years. He had never really gotten back to his old self after the last one. It's hard to explain, but, as unexpected as it was, you could almost feel it coming. That may sound a little insensitive, but others have said it, too. He'd gotten to do a lot of big things recently, including a cross-country train trip, and getting to attend his great-granddaughter's first birthday. He'd also gotten to have lunch with my son, his great-grandson, for his 9th birthday a week ago. Still, every day seemed to be taking its toll on him.

Sunday was a day full of planning. We tried to figure out what to do about my brother, Eric, and his family. Then, we had to decide what to do about ourselves. In the end, we decided to drive back to Lubbock, as planned. My brother, sister-in-law (Day), and niece (Audrey) flew into Dallas late Sunday night and stayed at my parent's house with my mom. Dad actually had to go to D.C. for a night and teach one day of a class yesterday, before returning to Dallas last night. We decided to fly back to Dallas yesterday, and the five of us (me, Amanda, Eric, Day, and Audrey) drove into Longview last night. Since then, it's been a lot of time with family. My grandmother seems to be holding up alright. All of my dad's brothers are here, as well as his only sister. Everyone seems to be doing ok. Every once in awhile a wave of realism sweeps over an individual or group, but overall it's good for the family to be together. As unexpected a get-together as this is, it's nice to spend some time with everyone.

C.T., as we called him, had a long and eventful life. He leaves behind an incredible family legacy. He always got the most out of life, and I will miss him.