Such a long weekend of celebrating Aaron's graduation one day, followed by his party today. A houseful of people gathered; many came and went throughout the four hours. And yet, grandparents were missing from the scene. Three have passed. One is not mobile enough to navigate easily in such situations. 

Then, tonight on facebook, I saw a post which read, "Grief never ends...but it changes. It's a passage, not a place to stay, Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith. It is the price of love."

Milestones give us pause to think of those who have passed. Today, both Mike and I took moments to include our parents in celebrating this graduation weekend. What made it special is we didn't really plan it, we did it on our own, and only discovered our shared grief and price of love by chance in a conversation.

So often this year, we have heard, "You've done a great job raising Aaron." The fact of the matter is that he comes from a great gene pool...and that includes his grandparents. Living and deceased.

Kudos to Frances Bernadette & William T. Rorick along with Arthur J. and Barbara A. Vonderhaar.  For those we've never met, but who handed down their values and principles...we also thank you. By God's grace and design through the ages, Aaron is the young man he is today because of you!