I would say this past week was a fairly hard and emotional one in the Dawson house. 

I said last week that we were dealing with some things and would have to be away from the blog for a bit.  Well, after battling Alzheimer’s for awhile, Adam’s Grandpa Van Heirseele passed away.  It was a very tough time because it’s always hard to see someone you love suffer.  While we’re all comforted by the fact that he is no longer hurting, it still stings that he doesn’t get to be here with us anymore. 

It was also the first grandparent that my husband has lost, and after losing three of mine, I know how hard it is.  I will say, though, it was amazing to see the impact this man had on the people around him.  During the visitation, there was a huge line to pay respects the entire time we were there.  From 4 until 8 p.m. person after person came through to share a memory or smile and say goodbye. 

It was beautiful to witness and not surprising at all.  From the moment Adam took me to meet his family (and there were a lot of them considering his mom is one of ten), his grandpa treated me as one of his own.  He used to joke that he didn’t know why I was hanging around Adam but he was sure glad that I did.  In many ways, he was my grandpa too and I loved that I got to have one again even if it was for a short while.

I also had to say goodbye to a furry friend.  For awhile, I’ve been pet sitting the dog of the family I used to nanny for while they were away.  I’ve talked about Dusty before, but he was one of the sweetest golden’s I ever did meet.  He was always happy to see you, loved to play, and was relentless in demanding a peanut butter filled kong.  Even in his later years when he couldn’t hear or walk as well, he would still greet me with an enthusiastic tail wag.  Although, it was nothing compared to the greeting Adam would get when he came over.  They were besties.

This would be Dusty chilling on top of Adam.

Our family dog, Phoebe, had to be put down a little over a year ago and spending time with Dusty after that became even more special.  He was the best doggy bandage for my broken heart.

Goodbyes are NEVER easy.  Many times I wish I never had to say goodbye to anyone.  But they give us a chance to remember the best and truly cherish the time we got with those close to us.  So if you’ve had a week of goodbyes or are struggling with recent goodbyes, I feel you and I promise it will get better in time.