With Sadness Comes Happiness.

Last week was a whirlwind, and an emotional one at that.

Tim and I decided to start our search for a beagle puppy a couple weeks ago. With a little help from a fellow friend, we found one at a rescue shelter here in Saint Louis and gave her a visit last Sunday. We instantly fell in love with the puppy [named Marcia by the shelter], despite her having a little bit of ringworm by her tail. We were certainly concerned about the ringworm and spreading to other parts of the puppy, along with to us and my cat Ferrah. Well, we put all that aside and decided to become new parents to an 11 week old beagle puppy. We would come back Tuesday to pick her up—we had some shopping to do & puppy-proofing the house before we brought her home.

Monday night brought some no-so-great news. My mom called me and told me that my grandfather had unexpectedly passed away that evening. The funeral was set for Thursday morning, so I left Saint Louis Wednesday morning at 7 AM and headed north to Schleswig, IA. Normally I’m excited to drive home—I get to be by myself, think & reflect on things, and sing as loud as I want in the car. But I was dreading this 8 hour drive ahead of me. I have never wanted to not go home as much as I did on this trip. I didn’t want to have to go home because of a funeral. I go home when I want to see my friends and family, for holidays, to escape the city—not for unexpected events like this. The next couple of days were hard and full of tears. But there were also laughs and seeing of family members I haven’t seen in a year. Hearing the laughs reminded me of how life can move on, and good things will happen. It will be hard at first, but they say everything happens for a reason. My family didn’t just gather to mourn the death of my grandfather, but we also gathered to celebrate the life he lived. As my brother said:

He taught me how to play golf, relax and take it easy, a good western is hard to beat, and that Old Milwaukee’s Best was the best beer out there. I will love and miss you Grandpa Jensen. You were the best!

I returned back to Saint Louis Saturday afternoon, just in time to watch my beloved Huskers kick my boyfriend’s beloved Mizzou’s butt in football. I was greeted by our new puppy—whom we renamed “Nellie.” This past week came full circle…it started off at a high point, went to a real low point, and came back up. Here’s to you, Grandpa Dale.

 

—m.