Poppie

My grandfather, Charles Kenneth Arpke, passed away on Tuesday May 18th. He was the ripe old age of 88 and had been fading for a while but his passing still hurt quite a bit. Aaron and I packed up the boys, picked up my sister Kalina, her son Hunter, and my brother Kellan (who happened to be in Norfolk VA for an ROTC event), rented a huge SUV and drove down to FL. It was an adventure! The kids did really well (mostly) and the adults didn't kill them or each other. It was really nice to see my siblings but a sad circumstance to bring us together.

We got to Florida on Friday and saw my parents, uncles and grandmother, Nonnie. Nonnie and I just sat on the couch together and snuggled. She seemed alright but I know that having her family there was helping to ease (mask?) the pain of losing her husband of 60 years. She nursed him at home until the end.

I really missed Poppie when we got to the house. He would always say, "Hey Brit!" or "Hi there sweetie!" and give me a big hug and kiss. His memorial service was on Saturday at 1pm. It was nice service although we had to sit in the "cry room" at the back to the sanctuary with the boys because they were WILD! They were pretty good for most of the trip but they didn't get a nap at their normal time (most of the time not at all!) the whole time we were gone so my family didn't really see their best side but everyone understood.

In the past 4 years that Aaron and I have been married (4 years TODAY, actually) we have lost 4 grandparents between the two of us. Wow. I guess we are at that age where we are both creating life and saying goodbye to those we love too. I am so glad that because Aaron is from FL, I was able to spend a lot of time with my grandparents in the last 7 years. I know I appreciate my relationships with them so much more than I did when I was a kid. Poppie was a wonderful man and I miss him dearly.