Wow, it's been way too long since my last post. My excuses are as follows: We traveled to Florida the week before Thanksgiving to be with my folks and that same week my Grandpa died. Then, everytime I tried to write a post while we were in Florida I could never finish it. And, lastly, our power cord stopped working towards the end of the trip and we just got a new one in the mail two days ago. There you have it. I am still here, alive and kicking and sooooooooo glad to be back in the normal swing of things (with a computer!). This is sure to be a lenghty post as I play catch-up. The rest of Will's nap (if there's anytime left!) will be devoted to reading your blogs (can't wait to see what's been going on with you all).
On Monday, November 12 my grandpa Henry LaCroix died. He had been in and out of hospital and hospice care since August and it was time. He was 94 (his 95th birthday would have been in a week and a half) and every time we saw him for the past 4 or 5 years were true blessings. About that long ago he was diagnosed with pacreatic cancer, but kept amazing everyone with how well he did. Until his dying days, he was the most loving, talented, intelligent, and hilarious grandpa. Here's a summary of some amazing facts about his life and who he was to me:
Henry Paul LaCroix (I found out at the funeral that Will and he share the same middle name- this of course reduced me to tears) was an accountant for 35 years in northern Michigan, but before that he was a big band tenor saxophonist and crooner (hence the musical talent and ability in my family). He had seven children with his wife Bernice, whom he wooed at one of the dances for which he played in the 1930s. Their seven children went on to give him 28 grandkids, who themselves had given him over 50 great-grandkids (and even one great-great grandchild). To these people he left some pretty amazing gifts:
Fishing-
growing up I NEVER knew that my grandpa had ever been an accountant. Whenever we talked about what our granparents did I always said that Grandpa Hank was a fisherman. I told my grandmother this while we were there for the funeral and she laughed, "Well, you know he went fishing three times a day!" I have several family members who love fishing because of him. I can't even tell you how many pictures I've seen of him and various children/granchildren holding up their prized catches for the day.
Golf-
I have great memories of my unlces yelling at tv screens while some boring old-guy hit a golf ball. I used to make so much fun of them. Who gets worked up over GOLF? Grandpa golfed well into his 80s.
Laughter-
Some of the earliest memories I have of Grandpa is of him picking me up to kiss him and with the most boisterous laughter to follow, saying "thank you, thank you, thank you." It never occured to me that he didn't only do this for me (and my siblings) until I saw this sign made for him at the LaCroix Thanksgiving gathering:
That was how special he made all 28 of his grandkids feel (and I'm sure he did the same with his great-grandkids).
Music-
My dad got his first gig when he was 16 years old, playing the organ in the dinning room at Schuss Mountain in northern Michigan. My grandpa bought dad that organ and thus started his career as a musician. My uncle Fred joined my dad playing the drums and he and my aunt Sue make music their living in Venice, Florida to this day. I have many cousins and aunts with beautiful voices and most family get-togethers involve a band consisting of my dad and uncle Fred. We would hear my cousin George play the trumpet, my aunt Mary singing "Proud Mary", my parents playing dance music from the their hayday, and I would sing. But the highlight would always be when grandpa got out his ancient saxophone and blew us all away with his surprisingly fresh renditions of Nat Cole tunes and other big band favorites. I was told that a few weeks before he passed, all of his kids were gathered for some occassion (perhaps it was their 70th wedding annivertsary) and they were all begging him to sing but he wasn't in the mood. Finally, as they were all about to leave, he called them back in and sang this beautiful song called "Daddy's Lullabye". My dad said that they hadn't heard this sung by their father since they were kids and he remembered every word:
(ca. 1929)
Fond recollections come back to me
Memories recalled by an old melody
Visions of someone a sweet angel face
One day she left me and Dad took her place
Each night he'd put me to sleep with a sigh
He'd sing this quaint lullaby:
Your daddy's work is through, your playtime's over too,
And soon you'll close your sleepy eyes
Now, say a little prayer for someone way up there
Just listen while you're praying, you will hear her saying,
"Mother has watched over you all the day,
kept you from harm while your daddy's away
God Bless my little lad
Now, go to sleep for Dad"
That was my daddy's lullaby
Melodies come just as melodies go
Still there is one that will linger I know
Down through the years 'twill remain in my heart
Although it causes the teardrops to start
When I'm alone and the nightshades appear
Softly I seem to hear:
Your daddy's work is through, your playtime's over too,
And soon you'll close your sleepy eyes
Now, say a little prayer for someone way up there
Just listen while you're praying, you will hear her saying,
"Mother has watched over you all the day,
kept you from harm while your daddy's away
God Bless my little lad
Now, go to sleep for Dad"
That was my daddy's lullabyMy dad sang this at the funeral and we were all a mess. I'm in tears just writing this now. Needless to say, the funeral was amazing. We had a Catholic mass at 8 a.m. followed by a "Celebration Service" planned by my aunts an uncles at a neighboring non-denominational church. The celebration service was a beautiful tribute to his life, complete with stories about him, his favorite music, and some of his favorite things on display beside his casket: his sax and fishing gear.
The days following were such an awesome time spent with my parents and my extended family. Thanksgiving day was great, too. My cousin Dean is the executive chef at an Arnold Palmer resort and he invited us, along with my brother (Adam) and his wife (Reina), for brunch at his house with his wife(Jennifer) and 1yr. old daughter (Hope). I had never tasted his food and can say that he is truly talented. In fact, I was so excited to eat his food that I took very boring pictures of the fare. I won't share them, but here's one of Dean cooking and some of Hope and Jennifer:
Dean (here's a hilarious little story: Dean's last name is Grill, which is befitting of a chef, but even funnier is the fact that his mom remarried a guy with the last name "Cook". Providence perhaps?)
Hope
Jennifer with an unhappy Will
Hope loved Will and couldn't get enough of him, always asking for "baby".
It's amazing how mothering instincts are present so early in life!
Here are some pictures from the Thanksgiving party. We counted off during the prayer and there were 65 people there! After our amazing spread (Dean even made roasted duck with orange marmalade sauce) we sang carols, listened to George play his trumpet, and, as the party died down, basked in moody guitar music played by my younger cousins (with an adoring great-grandmother listening on). Also included are pictures from the dinner we had following the Celebration Service for Grandpa, and other pics from the Florida trip.
Dad
With a huge family there are bound to be duplicate names: This is Sarah and Harry Malone along with Sidney Rosmondo. Sarah and Harry are my cousin Debbie's children-she married Denny Malone when I was a kid. We're pretty sure he's not related to Rodney's family
This is the youngest of my 1st cousins, Blake- he's 17- along with Jeremy (2nd cousin) who's about the same age. My oldest 1st cousin (Debby Malone) is 48. You can see her sitting at the bar in the background
Beach
Uncle Adam
Adam, Reina, and Grandma Bernie
Papa and Nana
Grandkids/Cousins: Adam, Dean, Cathy, Jennifer, Topher (oldest of the great-grandchildren)
Will and Me
More Cousins: Rodney, Gina, George, and Nathan
