Bittersweet

This blogging thing has proven harder than I thought. It's been quite a while since my last post, but as they say, life happens, and so much has been going on in the last few weeks.

In the midst of digging into my new job, and buying a new home, my grandfather passed away. It wasn't necessarily a surprise, as he had been in a nursing home for 6 years and had been declining even more rapidly over the past 6 months to a year. Nevertheless, it was a sad time. Grandpa was a wonderful guy and a very memorable character. My brother and I had a particularly special bond with him; as we were so little when he joined the family marrying our grandma, we were the first (well, second behind Grandma) that Grandpa spoiled rotten.

The quick trip to Cleveland for the funeral was indeed bittersweet. Saying goodbye to Grandpa was hard, as was remembering the other people in our lives who have passed before him. Still, remembering the good times with him, and his larger-than-life personality was so welcome after watching him slip away these many years. We even learned new things about him, like his penchance for writing the White House (and the 2 responses he got!).

Being home with my family and spending quality time with my family and close family friends was really fulfilling. And filling. When you sit shiva, there's nothing to do but welcome people to the home and eat everything they bring you. Not that I'm complaining. I got to have some of my favorite Cleveland things: rugelach from Corky & Lenny's and pizza from Geraci's. A great toast to my grandpa, a former Cleveland restauranteur, to enjoy some of the local fare. We love you Grandpa!