Tom’s father passed in January.

We made it to Michigan in time to say goodbye, and for Harper to give his grandpa a kiss. We were able to stay for the funeral.

I couldn’t help but think of the last memories we had with him. The last time in Michigan, Tom and his dad got to go fishing. They sat on the pier at Millennium Park, catching too small fish in the pond below.

The last time his dad visited us, we narrowly missed his flight out of Myrtle Beach. We could get him a later flight, but we stayed in Myrtle Beach while we waited. His dad was like a kid at Disneyland. We went to lunch; he ate nothing but ran around playing arcade games for an hour. We went to Broadway on the Beach and he got caramel popcorn and spent half an hour telling Tom what candy he wanted in “ItSugar.” Though he was using a walker, he had the spirit of a teenager.

It’s nice to have wonderful memories of those we lose.