Good Memories of Loved Ones We Have Lost

Loved reading answers to this!
My grandmother lived in CA and would ride the Greyhound bus to see us. When I was 2, she came because my little brother was born. She wanted to buy me a fancy rocking horse with springs. I wanted the old fashioned one. I still have it. Every month, she would send me a package or post card. Unfortunately she died when I was 4.
Her father, my great-grandfather lived with us until he died when I was 6. He loved Dr. Pepper and Fig Newtons. We would walk to the store together to get them.
My nephew was born when my brother and SIL lived with me. The six months that they were there, I couldn't wait to get home to hold him and play with him. He also stayed with me many times and we would go swimming, to movies and shopping. He passed when he was 28. Now I do those things with his children.

My father LOVED children and would spend hours w/ us as children and then with my nieces and nephews walking them in their carriages singing Irish lullabies(SP?) . We danced at my wedding to one.

He passed away prior to my having children, but I still remember him walking the big blue carriage and him singing and singing. I only wish my children could have experienced it.

Mine is of my son. Our last halloween was so much fun and although I can't really explain that memory very well, I just like the way it makes me feel when I think back to that day.

No worries J.! It can be sad to remember, but it's really wonderful at times too. One of the things I remember most about my mother and miss the most is how tickled we would get when together at a lot of the same things -and often they weren't the most appropriate things to be tickled at, but we would just break down into hysterics. We enjoyed many of the same books and movies too, and sometimes I still reach to call her when I've finished a particularly good book.

Your memory of the balloons, your boys and your dad is a great one!

What a great post!

Each night at 10pm my little girl would wake. I enjoyed feeling her kick and roll within me. I cherished every moment of those active times during my pregnancy. As a gift for our anniversary my husband told me he would like to have another child. He knew more than anything I wanted another child. She passed away at 31 week on Mother's Day of 2006. My son I only got to feel flutter a couple of times before he passed away at 16 weeks. My little ones are my constant prayer partners. I can not imagine my life without them.

Great post. Mine is of my dad.
My entire pregnancy was filled with tons of family issues and drama. I was pregnant with the first grandchild and he was super excited about it. When things got bad, or he could tell I was upset....he would always focus on the pregnancy. He would take me out to lunch to satisfy my cravings, go to babies r us and spend hours looking around, ask me to bring over the bags of clothes I bought so he could see all the outfits. We had a strong bond anyway, but during the pregnancy it got stronger. So it's not just one memory, but his involvement in my entire pregnancy. He was the proud grandpa for sure.
Sadly he passed away a month before I gave birth. The last night I saw him I was leaving to drive to LA for my babyshower (my boyfriends side of the family). He had been sick that week (pneumonia) and when I went to go give him a kiss goodbye he told me he didn't want to, because he was afraid of me getting pneumonia while pregnant. I just told him not to be silly, gave him a kiss on the lips, gave him a hug, told him I loved him and was on the road. That was the last kiss and hug I ever got, and I am grateful for it!
=)

Mine is of my dad who passed almost 7 years ago, I'm actully hoping to have my c section on the anniversary of the day he died. Anyways he was a truck driver and I would go with him on the road during summer vacation. And those were the best times of my life! I also miss the way he called me "Manda poo" I was the baby and the only girl in my family of 4 brothers! So i was very close to him. I think about him alot these days and how much he would have loved my son and my current baby, he cherished my niece and nephew. My son was born just over a year after he passed, and sometimes I do feel cheated almost that he didn't get to see him in person. I know hes up there watching out for us but I still miss him:)

Your post almost bring back tears again for me. Mine is of my dad too and the last day before he died, it was Father's day, we bought him a card that had a laughing guy each time you opened it. My dad loved it so much, that was the last time he laughed and we heard him laugh. He died the next day.

He was the greatest grandad and dad to have.

My grandfather, he passed away in 2006. He gave the biggest bear hugs. I miss that most of all. He also sang old church hymns to me just for fun when we would drive around together. He had a strong southern accent, much like Johnny Cash's. I still get goosebumps when I hear" O Come all Ye Faithful" I can almost hear his voice singing along.

My nephew was killed last June. He was 5. One of the best memories that I have of that crazy boy was from his Mom's (My little sister) birthday party the March before he died. My dad brought kazoos for the kids so we all "sang" happy birthday to her with kazoos. It was my dad and Evan's idea and they were so funny together doing it. I'll never forget it! I miss that wild child!

My mom & stepfather cared for my son the first two and a half years of his life when I worked PT. Pap's responsibilities were strictly FUN STUFF!
Whatever my son wanted to "do" was fine with his pap. He would let him throw stones into a stream for 3 hours IF that's what my son wanted to do.
When my son was at the stage where he got a kick out of folding dollars & putting them into his piggy back slot, Pap showed up the next day with 100 O. dollar bills, just to watch him do it!
You get the idea.
We always joked that Grandma was only here for diaper duty, meal prep, etc.! He was an awesome grandfather & we still talk about him all the time.

what a wonderful question! My grandma died 15 years ago and we were very close. I was getting my undergrad in a town a few hours away from home and came back to visit in the fall. My grandma was really sick and i could tell she didn't have much time - but she stood in the doorway and watched me go out and pick gourds from the garden - and I sent her a long letter about how much i love her - but that day we just sat at the table and talked. Sometimes I dream about her - but it's infrequent. When I graduated college and moved to Colorado I swear she "visited" me one night - I felt a presence go through me and woke up feeling her near me. i still cry when i think about it...so many years later and i still miss her so much. ;-)

I never got to see my dad much. However, on one Valentine's Day when I am about 7, I recall his bringing over to our house ,this beautiful BRIGHT red heart-shaped cake for my brother and I ... WOW!! I had NEVER seen such a lovely cake, let alone RED!!! I was very wowed by this cake... I still have a vivid memory of it carved in my mind.. And even though, we didn't get to see our dad much, he made it a point to bring someone over each holiday.. for Easter one time, he bought us each these sugar eggs where you could look inside and see an Easter Scene.. I was so impressed as to how they got those little figures inside those eggs.. :) hahaha Thanks Dad!!

Aww, what a sweet question!

Almost 3 years ago, on my birthday, I lost my Uncle Brian, who is also my godfather. I miss him so much. He had cancer everywhere... but he never, ever lost his sense of humor. I was a pretty troubled kid, and my parents would often send me to their house for a weekend... he never gave up on me or made me feel bad, he just loved and encouraged and guided in a way that very few people know how.

When he was at his worst with the cancer, he still made us laugh! He had to postpone a chemo treatment once because 'I need more of those little plates, the little ones'... I was like WHAT are you talking about?!... he said 'you know, those little plates, platelets'... OMG LOL!! I wish so badly that my husband had met him... the relationship was too new at first, then he was too sick for it to have been appropriate for them to meet, but it would have been the battle of the wits for sure!! Sometimes my husband makes a wise crack comment and I think 'Uncle Brian would have said that!'

At his memorial service, he requested that a jazz band play 'Oh When the Saints come Marching In'... his best friend Wally was on lead trumpet (they asked me to play as well, but I never would have made it)... everytime I hear that song I laugh and cry in memory of him. Since he passed away on my birthday, I always take a moment on that day to remember him (not just on that day, but being my birthday makes it somehow special, bittersweet).

My aunt, his wife, recently went through some old boxes and found a letter Uncle Brian had written to me before he passed away, right before my Confirmation, and she gave it to me. The humor is still there! He was talking about my baptism (joking about throwing baby's in some water), my 1st communion (when he wore a yellow sportscoat which, in his hindsight, made him look clownish), and referred to my conformation as 'When the holy guy smacks me in the forehead)... the last thing he wrote was how he couldn't wait to dance with me at my wedding... which was this year. He was definitely still with me though :)

Both of my parents are gone. My Mom had alzheimers and it was so horrible the last 3 or 4 years that when she finally died it was such a huge relief. It really took me about 5 years to really miss her. But now, every 4th of July I cry for her. She LOVED fireworks, and I can hear her deep southern drawal in my head going "Oooooo, puhrettee". I also cry during certain hymns at church. She loved singing her hymns and man oh man was she tone deaf!

My Dad, on the other hand died quite suddenly, with no warning and it was devastating from the moment it happened. He hated funerals with a passion, and for years forbade us to have one for him. One day at a family reunion, he sat back and said "this is what I want for a funeral". So instead of a funeral, we had a memorial service that was a good old fashion BBQ, sit down talk with friends and share memories. We requested that everyone wear hawaiian shirts in his memory (He was well known for his loud print shirts). And most people did! He had certain little dadisms that we all use. Like when we would hand him a gift, he would go "What tis it? What tis it?" Kind of all strung together like "Whatisit"? Not too long before he died, he was diagnosed with cancer, but hadn't started treatment yet. My daughter was in the middle of chemo and was in and out of the hospital. She was adament that no one take pictures of her bald. My dad and her had a very special relationship, they were so close. He asked her if she would take a picture with him when he lost his hair and she told him "only for you grandpa". And that day never came. He left a HUGE hole when he died.