Opening Doors

I am often reminded that heaven's gain is our loss.

My Mom used to have two men in her life who treated her like gold. And within two years, they were both gone.  My brother is a wonderful son, who lives only 6 hours away - a 1 hour flight. But it's not the same as living in the same house, or 5 minutes down the road.  

My Dad loved my mom so very well. He cherished her and shared every part of his life with her.
Jordan grew up with his grandparents living only a bike ride away once they moved to town when he was 4 - such a treat.  His weekly "job" involved cleaning a bit around the house, sometimes getting good tips from the change he retrieved beneath the lounge chair in their family room.  And when my Dad,(Grampy), went to heaven, Jordan was the man about Grammy's house, helping with things she couldn't reach, heavy things, man things.  

Mom has reminded me again of a special moment in time. After grocery shopping, Jordan insisted on Grammy waiting in the van while he lifted the bags into the back for her. As they approached the vehicle, Jordan opened and closed her door before he placed the groceries into the back and was on his way to his seat when a man nearby got out of his car to speak with Jordan. Through the wind shield my mom observed the exchange with the handshake that followed.  When Jordan made his way back to the van, my mom was curious.  The older gentleman wanted Jordan to know that he had witnessed the attention given to his grandmother, the door opening and closing, and he wanted to commend him for his evident devotion.

What the man didn't know was that it had been a particularly brutal day in junior high school and Jordan had been a bit down when his Grammy had picked him up.  

A moment frozen in time.  

Even though Kim opens my door, I do miss the mischievous face that used to try get there first and cherish me.