Through the Eyes of a Child

Have I mentioned that I love Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane!?! I have tried to come up with the perfect thing to write about for two weeks. I have decided that there is no perfect thing just sweet memories. As I have written about my honey, girlies, parents, siblings, and Gram in the past, I felt it was time to share my sweet memories of my Grandpa Milich this time. Those are tender memories as he was only with me for ten short years, but his love lived beyond those years for sure.

My grandpa was a big man. He had huge hands, well, at least my brother and I remember them being quite large. Mom says they were about the size of my brother's are now, but we know that can't be right! (isn't it funny the way a child's mind works?!) Anyway, one of my favorite memories of my grandpa was how he made me feel. I loved it when he showed up. He would grab me and put me on his lap. I would sit up there feeling so special. He would nibble ears and noses as grandpas do. He loved us so much. He use to love listening to music and I loved listening to his music with him. I still enjoy having his songs take me back to a time sitting with him in his living room. I loved being allowed to go visit his workshop in the basement. Simple treasures were found there for sure.

My favorite times visiting my grandpa were when I got to enjoy breakfast with him. Oh the joys of being a grandchild! He use to eat Cocoa Krispies and Fruit Loops together! Guess what that meant?! That is right! We got to have it too! Yummy! I can not imagine letting my girls start the day off with that but as a kid, I loved it! What is really funny to my brother and I now, the bowl he use to eat his cereal combo in was the smallest of the mixing bowls from Gram's set. We remember it being huge! Again, the eyes of a child are a bit tainted. After my Gram passed away, Mom gave my brother that bowl. We both looked at it in shock! It was not that big at all!

I also remember him letting me take a sip of his beloved Pepsi. Oh how the bubbles tickled my nose and he would giggle. He ate some things that really make you wonder as well. Coming from a poorer time in our nation, he let nothing go to waste. So if the olives had mold on top, scoop off the mold and eat 'em! No thank you!

Most of all, to him, I was his "Blonde Princess". He also sang this song to me, "Blue eyes...my baby's got blue eyes." I don't know who sings that to this day but every once in a while, I can hear him singing that to me and I smile. You see, as his precious Blonde Princess, no matter where I go in life, he has gone with me. When we were married, we thought of him and how much he would have loved Matt's sense of humor. When we adopted our girls, I knew he would have loved having the chance to nibble ears and noses once again. With each grandchild that arrived, we thought of all he use to do for us and even more, how he made us feel. With the passing of my Gram in recent years, I have found myself thinking of the two of them more and more. What a joy to have memories that live on and on. I love sharing stories about all my grandparents with my girls and I pray they will continue to pass on the strong legacy of Christian men and women in their life as well. One of the greatest treasures I have now are the books both he and Gram gave me over the years. They always wrote inside them and I have those sweet words forever....To my Blonde Princess....Love, Grandpa and Grandma. Silly how one simple line can take a grown woman back 30 years to a time where she was someone's little girl. That is the power of the mind and the reason I love walking down memory lane.