Farewell Grandfather

Was a long and emotional day today. We farewelled Grandfather.

Was a lot more emotional than I thought it would be, I guess having been so busy preparing to get over here I hadn’t really had the opportunity to grieve the loss of my Grandfather, and I certainly grieved at the funeral.

I promised myself I wasn’t going to lose it, however I was the last of the grand kids to give a speech, and I think I had the worst time to give it. Was difficult listening to my cousins give their recollections of Grandfather as it brought back so many memories, a lot of which I had forgotten. My sister Nicola gave her speech just before I did, and given a lot of her memories were ones that I shared with her, I was pretty much a mess by the time I got up there.

Was a lot harder tan I thought, and I struggled through my speech, having to do most of it by memory as I couldn’t read what I had written. Below is a recount of what I said.

When I was young I knew a man. He taught me to think, to question and to enjoy life. To take each day as it comes, and make the most of it.
When I was young, he was my hero. He had stories that inspired the imagination, and my fondest memories are jumping into bed with him and hearing about how the steam train at midland saved the miners trapped down the mine.
He had a workshop where you could find pretty much any tool, whether it be a vice to crack sandalwood nuts, or a saw and a hammer to cut some wood and bang in some nails.
He taught me about the bush and the outdoors, geology, minerals and science and polishing and cutting gemstones.
As I grew older I knew him less and less, but the lessons he taught me early in life always stuck. He had an amazing can do attitude, and a huge heart, he would do anything for anyone if he could.
As we go through life we meet people who have a big impact on our lives, and who we are, and I think there was no one that had as big an impact on my life as what my Grandfather had on mine.
We will all miss you dearly Grandfather, but know that you had a long and amazing life that so many were blessed to be a part of. In my memories you will live forever.

After the funeral we had Champagne in the park and chatted with those that attended. It was good to catch up with and meet a lot of friends and relatives, and remember the great times we had with Grandfather.

Afterwards we headed back to Grandfathers house for some pizza, and had a fire out the back so the kids could roast some marshmallows. Poor Jess thought the sandalwood sticks burning near by were a light, and grabbed one of them, badly burning her fingers. She was so exhausted from the day that she did not cope well at all, and I think she will be sore for a few days.

All in all it was a very emotional day, and one that we won’t forget anytime soon.

I think while we are over here I would like to find out where Grandma is buried so I can say a final farewell to her as well. I wasn’t able to make it to her funeral last year, and would like to take the opportunity to see her while we can.