We've had alot of action in the Mueller household. Austen of course is full of life! He has almost begun to run! He loves to push his car down the street in the evenings to the park, and is VERY vocal if we happen to accidentally pass by it!
We unexpectantly lost Jon Eric's grandad a couple of weekends ago. We enjoyed fellowship with our family during this difficult time. Jon Eric has so many special memories of his grandad. I wanted to share a little excerpt of something he wrote about him. Ok...well nevermind... here's the whole thing. I couldn't decide.
That’s granddad
I am not a poet or a storyteller but I wanted to share a few things that I remember about my granddad. I have titled this That’s granddad.
When I was younger I remember my brother, Brad having a birthday party. I was very jealous and upset that he was getting all the attention and presents. So, I went into my closet and hid, upset that I was not getting any attention. 5 minutes later granddad came into the closet and offered me a stick of gum, he always carried packs of Wrigley’s gum. That was his way of saying you’re just as important as your older brother…that’s granddad.
To this day, every time I smell a piece or Wrigley gum I think about the bowling alley. Every time we would go bowling granddad would always offer me a piece of gum. I still remember as a kid going bowling with granddad at Meridian Lanes and if by some miracle I would get a strike I would look up and there would be granddad looking around as if to say, did you see my grandson…that’s granddad.
Growing up and spending a day with granddad on a Saturday meant going to a garage sale. We would take off in the Mustang that he took such good care of and loved so much. We would hit the garage sale hot spots of that weekend. If I found something I liked, granddad would look at the price and just smile. He would offer a price that was ridiculously low and 9 times out of 10 we would walk out of there with the price he offered. When we went and played golf he would pay for the green fee and then say you are going to give the boy a sleeve of golf balls to play with, right? That’s granddad.
Granddad was very competitive; whether it was pool, shooting baskets, scrabble, uno, or any other card game. Most grandparents let their young grandkids win those games so they feel good about themselves, not granddad. Granddad would win and then set the game up as fast he could so you did not have time to leave just so he could win again. I can still hear mema in the background saying… Lawrence!.. That’s Granddad.
I still remember spending Easter at mema and granddad’s old house. It was church and then back to their house to hunt Easter eggs. Most eggs had a penny or a nickel but if you found those special eggs that granddad had strategically placed, you got a quarter…That’s granddad.
The first time I took my wife Katie to meet my grandparents we met up in their apartment at Epworth Villa. It was dinner time and we did not go out for dinner or go down to the restaurant. Dinner was ordered for us and had already been brought up to the apartment by the time we got there… Before introducing my new girlfriend granddad said, oh is this Jennifer? Embarrassingly, looking at Katie, I said no this is my new girlfriend, Katie. We then looked in the living room and there sat a table with a card game ready to be played. He didn’t ask how is the job or where did you guys meet. Granddad said, let’s play partners, I get Katie! Jon Eric, your partner is mema, have a seat! That’s granddad.
I have many more memories I could share but I wanted to save, my best memory, for last. My mom shared this with me. This past Saturday night granddad passed away. Katie and I went to the OSU game and left our 14 month old son, Austen with mom and dad. Saturday afternoon mom took Austen to see the “Greats.” Mom said that Austen and his Great Granddad had a great time rolling Austen’s cars back and forth to each other. Austen is normally shy when it comes to people he does not see on a regular basis. But when Austen saw great granddad, he showed him his cars and they both started rolling the cars to each other. Austen was clapping and laughing as great granddad rolled the cars on the floor. Austen will never remember this but it is something I will never forget. That’s granddad.
Wow! Thats all I can say.
In other news, we have been busy as a family. Jon Eric is preparing for the biggest rowing event of the year. The Head of the Oklahoma. It attracts rowing teams from all over the country.
I have been busy studing and teaching to become a certified child passenger safety instructor. I am relieved to report my instructor candidacy is over and I am now certified to teach. This will be a big part of my new "position" with Safe Kids Oklahoma as the Child Passenger Safety Coordinator.
I also received word tonite I have been selected to Leadership Oklahoma City's LOYAL program. I am super excited to participate in Class IV.
So as you can imagine, our lives will continue to be busy as ever, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
