Grandpa Dahl

from left: my great aunt Iris, my great uncle Jim, my grandparents

This picture hangs in my stairwell.  Maybe it's just at the right level but it seems to catch my eye every time I walk up and down the stairs.

My grandpa died when I was pregnant with Mark and because I hadn't lived nearby for years, it seems a long time since I saw much of him.

I dreamed about him all night long though.  In my dreams he was with Braeden and helping him.

I wonder why I had those dreams.  My grandpa lived in Virginia for awhile, not where Braeden is, but closer to Washington D.C. because he worked in the Department of Agriculture during the Eisenhower administration.

It occurs to me that maybe he is helping Braeden.  In this life, they didn't interact a whole lot.  We mostly lived far away.

I think the grown up Braeden would have really liked my grandpa though.  Grandpa Dahl was charismatic and social.  He loved to be on the go.  He had a big laugh and knew how to command a room.  It occurs to me that Braeden is more like my grandpa than I ever realized before.

That is a happy thought for me.  I love my grandpa.  He and my grandma together symbolize what I aspire to.  They define resilience in my mind.  He enjoyed his life and spent it serving, serving, serving.  He was kind to my grandma and to me.

I like to think that he's helping Braeden too.