Taken on the USS Yorktown the day after Thanksgiving

The man in the middle of the above picture is my wonderful Grandpa, the man I'm closest to next to my Daddy. We've always had a special relationship, ever since he retired 2 weeks after I was born. I learned to cook standing on a chair next to him, wearing his too-big aprons that he kept in a special drawer in his dresser. We watched cooking shows together, especially Justin Wilson, the Cajun chef ("Ah gawr-an-tee!"), sitting in his brown recliner together. He taught me how to peel potatoes just right and passed down his mother's recipe for pasty.

He's also a musician, playing the trumpet and piano. When I was in middle school, he took me to my piano lessons every week and in college, I knew he was in the audience for every concert and voice recital I participated in. Now that I'm singing for the CSA music ministry, I get to talk to him about the music we do and my own development as a singer (by the way, that's Catholic Student Association, not Confederate States of America... because that is a distinction that has to be made down here).

The family's trip down here for Thanksgiving was particularly special because on Friday, he took all 11 of us to the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier like the one he served on during the Korean War. We climbed all over the ship together and I understood a little better all the stories I've heard him tell for years about his time on the Kearsarge. As we walked the decks, I watched him travel back in time to when he was about my age and relive the memories. At one point, towards the end of our visit to the ship, just after he'd seen the memorial to those who had served on his ship and died during the Korean War, I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just slipped my hand into his and he held it pretty tight for a few minutes. I think it's safe to say that we have a pretty tight bond, and I am so glad that we got to share that day with each other.

I wish I had space to write about all the interesting things my grandpa has done. He and my grandma have some wild stories about their early marriage when they lived in Chicago, and they and my grandpa's sister (who has since passed, but was very religious when I knew her) would go out on the town. He worked for the government for years, in computers when the industry was just being developed. They moved down to NC from Washington in the 70s and he and Grandma are the original owners of their house.

I also don't have space to list all the things he's done for me, as he's been financially as well as emotionally supportive. No matter what I'm doing, both of them are incredibly interested and supportive of everything I try. This weekend, we were going somewhere together and talking about grad school. Grandpa told me how proud he was of me for what I'm doing and said that he thinks it's great that, if I go on and do a Ph.D., I'll be the first doctor in the family. Even though he didn't finish college himself, he's incredibly smart and encourages education. Which is good, since I'm planning to make that my career :)

Yes, I am one blessed lady.