There's Always a Reason to Celebrate

This is not the post I intended to write today, but once I started I couldn’t seem to stop. If you’re not into overly emotional posts about beloved grandparents and cute dogs come back tomorrow for a tasty ramen review. 
Today is Ashton’s Gotcha Day! After months (years, really) of agonizing over whether or not to get a dog, we finally found our little soul mate and brought him home on April 13th, 2014.

I think my grandpa, who passed away three years ago on the same day, may have had a hand in helping us find our little guy, who has been the perfect addition to our family from day one and has brought so much comfort and laughter to our lives just like grandpa always did.

I miss him so much every day, but more than anything I’m grateful for all of the years we had together. He had an eternal smile, and always a joke in his back pocket. He gave the best hugs, and afterward would look me right in the face and tell me unabashedly how much he loved me.
“Do you know what I like about you?” he often asked. “Everything,” he answered, every single time. And I always needed to hear it.
He was encouraging and proud of me even when I felt like I’d failed. He helped others in need, never thinking twice. He served in two wars and stood unwavering in his beliefs. He started a business that went on to support my entire family for decades, and still does. I’ll never forget the way he loved my grandma, the way they looked at each other so full of love, right until the end. It meant so much to me that he got to get to know and love Tom before he passed, even though he didn’t make it long enough to see us married. The first time I took Tom home, to surprise my grandparents for their 60th wedding anniversary, they immediately welcomed him and treated him like family. My heart felt so full that day, and every time we were all able to spend time together over the next couple of years was just as happy. He and my grandma remain my greatest examples for how to make a marriage work, in good times and bad, and I’m so lucky for that.

My grandparents have always been my safe place, two of my favorite human beings in the world, and have taught me more over the years than they could ever know: how to love, how to laugh and recently, how to survive a great loss.
Instead of focusing on the sadness felt on this day, which would not make him happy at all, I wanted to celebrate these cherished memories and of course, my best little friend.

Ashton celebrated early with a heaping helping of puppy ice cream (more on that soon!), one of grandpa’s favorite treats as well. I know they would have loved each other, even if they had to fight over the Nutty Buddies.
This day will always be bittersweet, but even where there is sadness there is always a reason to celebrate.