Extended Hiatus

Most of you already know that my grandfather passed away on September 7th. Not only did I live with my grandfather in high school (the mess in my bedroom gave him fits), but when we moved to the new abode in January, it was back home, into my grandfather's house, to help him take care of the place. It has been at times, a very trying experience (just don't ask about the chip corner) but there is no place in this world I would rather have been than here, with him, during these last nine months, especially knowing, as I do now, that they would be his last.

I can't say that it was sudden -- he suffered a minor stroke in June, a warning shot across the bow, if you will, and the second stroke, which was much, much worse, was only a matter of time. Because my grandfather, he believed in living his life to the fullest. He believed that life wasn't worth living if it was lived in fear. He didn't let his first stroke slow him down in the slightest. The minute he was cleared by his doctors, he was back to doing all the things he loved, and celebrating his independence.

And you know, he had a pretty great run. Grandpa was 89 when he died, and I will miss him forever. This house won't be the same without him -- Sunday Lunch won't be the same without him -- and as a family, we are struggling now to come to terms with our grief and our loss. Grandpa was the patriarch of the family, the person around which we all gathered summer after summer, year after year. He was the rock, the bedstone and the foundation, and it will take time for us to reorient ourselves in his absence.

As a result, and in combination with the work I need to catch up on for my publisher, I'm afraid that I will not be back on the blog until October. In the meantime, I leave you with these two songs, which kind of capture the emotional roller-coaster on this end.

First, From Buffy The Musical, Once More with Feeling, "Where Do We Go From Here":


And Second, by Great Big Sea, "Nothing But A Song":