Winter Project

Winter has arrived in the Midwest with all of the drudgery it brings. True to this part of the country, we are experiencing ice, blowing snow, cold and long dark days. I've been trying to come up with a winter project so I don't just lay around wallowing in how miserable it is here.

Lately, I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about my dad during my sleepless hours (you know the time between 1:00 & 3:00 am when you can't sleep). I suppose that comes from spending time with my mom and her talking about him and reminiscing. He was truly an amazing man. My dad had one of the gentlest natures and kindest hearts of anyone I know. Well, thinking about him got me to thinking about my grandpa (my dad's dad).

My father and grandfather had a few similiar characteristics, but physically my dad took after his mother's family. Grandpa, on the other hand, was a taller man with a larger frame and a sizeable voice. Most babies burst into tears when he walked in a room started to speak. I was remembering how much I enjoyed him, but how little I really knew about him. Then I recalled that several years ago I saw a box in my folks' garage. I asked Dad what it was and he said letters of Grandpa's. I brought the box home intrigued. I read a few of the letters and found out they were letters he had written to my grandmother when they were courting. I've always planned on typing them so everyone in the family would be able to read them. There is some really interesting historical information in these letters. Did you guess, yep this is my winter project, transcribing and chronicling all of the letters. This doesn't sound like a huge project unless you have seen the box containing the letters....it's probably a foot and a half high by two and a half feet long....totally full of letters.

I'm looking forward to reading all of the things Grandpa did as a young man. What I know of him, is that he graduated from U of I (as did my great-grandfather), farmed for at least 60 years on the Lanan family farm, and was married twice. The love of his life was his first wife, my grandmother. His second marriage was one of convenience. I believe they cared for each other, but it wasn't a love match. He traveled extensively, Alaska a number of times and around the world once. These are the things I know him. I'm looking forward to knowing about the young man, and the stories he wrote about as he was courting his future wife.

After I lay awake contemplating all of this, winter didn't look so long and dreary. This could be one of the morning exciting winters I've had in quite awhile.