100. Wow!
Good afternoon
My name is Laural, and I am art’s second oldest grand child.
I was asked to say a little bit about the experience of being one of his grandchildren.
My granddad is one of a kind! My earliest memories of him are when I was pretty little. I have fond memories of traveling to the apartment in Orillia and playing with Nana and Granddad’s dog Jodi, sliding down piles of snow, and going for special dinners at Swiss Chalet. Of course I’ll never forget stealing mints from their candy bowl and Granddad telling me stories about his railroad days – stories that I now tell my children
One of my most treasured memories of Granddad is from when I was about 9 or 10. Nana was in the hospital for surgery, so our family would visit on the weekend. I would make granddad sandwiches and we’d go for a walk around the hospital. Because Granddad had a hard time hearing me, we would pass notes to each other written on hospital cafeteria napkins. I really treasured some of the messages he sent me.
I learned through those notes how much Grandad loved to hear about my life, and as I grew up I would often jot him a quick letter to tell him about life, school, work and family.
From him I discovered the love of writing, and also the importance of listening (or at least pretending really well).
As I’ve grown up I have had the privilege of not only introducing Grandad to my husband, but also to my 2 children, Matthew and Chloe, two of Art’s 4 great grandchildren.
There’s a saying that goes “it’s great to have children. Better to have grandchildren, but great grandchildren are the icing on the cake.”
For me it’s been such a blessing to watch granddad interact with my kids. I love to see the look of pure joy on his face when my kids give him hugs, or when he gets an extra special cuddle from a baby.
I recently told my 5 year old that his Great Grandad is 100. And I’ll leave you with the words he said to me.
“100 years old means you’ve seen lots of life. It makes you very smart and very special. And I’m lucky that it’s my Great Grandad.”
So, happy birthday, Grandad!
Congratulations on 100 years.
