This is Austin's Grandpa, Ralph Eyestone. Isn't he handsome? There were few occasions where I was able to sit and visit with him before he passed away. I met him for the first time the summer Austin and I got engaged. We met at one of his and grandma's favorite places to eat in Torrance, CA. Subway. It meant so much to Austin that I meet his grandparents before we got married. I loved that about him. I can specifically remember Grandpa Eyestone at our sealing in San Diego. He lovingly pushed his wife around the temple grounds in her wheelchair and posed for pictures in his dark sunglasses and blue sweater. The Grandpa Eyestone I knew was quiet and sweet but he had a wonderful presence. It was comfortable to sit in a room with him and not have to say anything at all. He passed away in California the same weekend we were blessing Dax in Utah. Instead of Austin's family traveling to Utah for Dax's blessing, they traveled to California to attend the funeral. Austin flew to California on Saturday morning, attended the funeral Saturday afternoon, then flew back to Utah on Saturday night and blessed Dax on Sunday morning with only my family in attendance. It was a bittersweet weekend that I will never forget. I was so sad that I couldn't be there at the funeral and I was so sad that Grandpa never met Dax. I knew it broke Austin's heart.
Out of all the wonderful things I knew about Grandpa Eyestone, the thing I know most was his love for flying. Not just planes like the picture above, but kites. It's one of the things that Austin talks of most when speaking of his Grandpa. He spent so much time flying kites with his grandchildren and it's one of Austin's fondest memories he has.
Even though Dax and Grandpa Eyestone never met, I like to think they share a special bond. They definitely share a love for flying kites. Dax has been asking for weeks to fly kites. There is never much of a wind in AZ, but this week, things cooled down and yesterday was a perfect kite flying day. We headed to a big open park when Austin got home from work and called Austin's dad, Grandpa Mac, to come join in the fun. Dax is a really good kite flyer, a total natural. You should have seen him driving that red baron plane through the sky. He could have stayed out there for hours, and I could have watched. Wyatt on the other hand was bored after two minutes and happily played at the park. I was so touched as I watched Austin, his dad, and Dax, three generations of boys, fly kites.
I know I wasn't the only one thinking of Grandpa Eyestone yesterday. I love that wonderful people from the past can live on through the lives of our children. I can't wait until Dax realizes how special that quality truly is. I love that Dax, even without knowing, has this passion for flying kites just like his Great Grandpa. And because families are forever, that one day they can talk all about it.
