speaking of steps...

I've been messing with this layout since the weekend (in my spare time, of course). A web site where I do most of my digital purchasing for scrapbooking hosted several challenges last Saturday for national scrapbook day, and one of them inspired me to tackle using this photo in the layout that resulted.

I adore this picture of my grandparents. It captures their joy in such a way that one can't help but feel moved by it. Their marriage was a second for both of them, and one that many who knew them admired and sought to model. They were fiercely devoted to each other, and I wish I'd been astute enough  when my grandfather died to recognize the incredible loss this was for my grandmother. I was 17 at the time, and of course the world revolved around me, so I wasn't paying attention, not adequately anyway.

I adored my grandfather, and took great pride in claiming him as my kin through the many ways we found connections with each other: we loved to work on jigsaw puzzles, play board games (we had a favorite), and he was so utterly attentive to cultivating an environment that encouraged each of his grandchildren to seek and grow and learn to be ourselves.

Bampy died when I was a senior in high school, coming home from the hospital mere days before he took his last breath. I was fortunate to see him the day before his passing, and indicative of his tendency to focus on others, he gathered what little strength he had to tell me, with fervor, that he was "rooting for Earlham!" the college to which I had applied and would ultimately attend. 

Miss you, Bamp. Thanks for the excellent blueprint you laid out for how to be a stellar (step) grandparent.