This Boot's for You ...

Or remembering Great Grandpa Jackson

I took a picture of these rattle boots that Miss Hope received, specifically to show to Great Grandpa Jackson as I knew he would be so tickled that she had already received her first cowboy boots. However, I never got around to getting the photo printed so that he could see, but I did remember to tell him the last time I got to talk with him on the phone.

It is hard when someone so special passes away. There just aren't words to really describe who they were and what they meant to you. Grandpa Jackson was one of those very special people. He meant so much to so many. As one of my cousins wrote on facebook the day he passed "A legend passed away this morning, a legend in our family anyway." And he kind of was, not in the biggest sense of the word - that the people the world knew him, like he was another Elvis, but those that knew him never forgot him. He loved his family, loved people, loved to chat and tell stories.  He loved jokes, playing them, telling them and watching others play out a good joke. As another family member mentioned at his funeral "your grandpa was just fun".

He was a self-made man who valued, honesty, integrity and hard work. He exemplified those values and instilled them in his family. Grandpa insisted you always give 110%, always, no matter what. Doesn't matter what someone else is doing, you do the right thing and give it your all. Always.
He was a perfectionist, like no other. No matter what anyone was doing, a project, a class in school, sports, getting a degree or a job, Grandpa set the bar high, made his expectations known and expected you to follow through. And we did. No one ever wanted to disappoint Grandpa.

It has been some months since he passed, but I still miss him like the dickens. I miss his voice and his interest in whatever we were doing, especially the great-grandkids. How he loved to hear the funny stories of all they said and did - and I know he told those stories to anyone who would listen!

And I know he will always live on in my heart and in some of the values I work to instill in William and Hope.

Work hard, work smart and play hard. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Your word is your bond. Personal integrity is priceless.

December 5, 1925 - August 9, 2013

Rest in Peace