Good bye to one of my favorites, at least for now.

My mom just called me to let me know that my Great Uncle Ross Paxman passed away. I loved this man. He was as dear to me as his brother, my Grandpa. I have so many fond memories of summers spent together. Uncle Ross and his wife Amy live in Washington. They would regularly come up to Canada and spend much of July at my Grandparents farm and in Waterton. They were often around for the 24th of July Celebrations in Glenwood, AB. I remember as a kid, spending some summers down at their place. As I remember it, they lived on the side of a mountain. Their backyard was a forest, there was this big huge boulder that was covered in moss that we loved to climb on. My dad has pictures of us kids sitting on the rock. I wish I had them to share with you. There were always big slugs slithering around on the wet ground of the forest. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. At least that is how my childhood memory recalls it.
Uncle Ross was funny. He was an airline pilot, and as a kid I always thought that was so cool...that HE was so cool because he was a pilot. I loved to hear him laugh. I loved to hear him sing. He had one of the greatest smiles. It may have been that his laugh, his voice and his smile were so much link my grandpa's. The summer before I got married I worked in Waterton. It had been a number of years since I had seen Uncle Ross and his crew, probably since Grandpa's funeral. My grandma called me up that July to tell me that Uncle Ross and family were camping in Waterton that week. At the first chance I got, I headed over to the camp ground to find them. I didn't know where they were camping, I was counting on my memory to help me find their motor home. I remember that it was a cool overcast day, it had been raining but it had stopped for the time being. I love the smell of Waterton in the rain. That fresh piney slightly earthy smell. As I wondered through the campground I saw him from I distance. His back was turned to me, but I knew it was him because he stood just like my grandpa. Grandpa had passed away 4 and half years earlier. My breath caught, and I had to hold back tears(much as I am doing as I type this). I paused for just a moment and then continued on, anxious to go give him a hug. That Sunday in church Uncle Ross was sitting behind me, and as we sung the hymn I could hear his voice loud and clear and he sounded just like my grandpa, again it made me cry. But it felt so good to feel so close to my grandpa again.
They have come to visit each summer since then. And it has been so great to have that connection. To have those memories. To laugh and play and sit out in the sun together. He will be dearly missed by many. But my grandpa is with his little brother again. What a great reunion that would have been, but one day it will be my turn to also join in that great reunion. But I have so much to do still to prepare. So today I am sad that Uncle Ross has passed on, but I am so happy that he is free from pain and is with my Grandpa again. I wish I were poetic, like a blogging friend of mine, I would love to be able to write a beautiful poem to finish off this post.