We are happily exhausted after a very busy week and weekend (playdates, Katherine and her boys visiting, pool visits, playground romps, Maymont and many, many errands); and the 3-day weekend is still ongoing! Will and I are looking forward to our “day date” tomorrow while Grandma and Grandpa watch Frances and George. More on all fronts very soon, but in honor of Memorial Day, I am posting some pictures of my grandfather, Leon Johnson, a Navy veteran. While he didn’t die in combat (the true honorees of Memorial Day), he did die earlier this year to join my beloved grandmother, Frances (my own daughter’s namesake), who left us ten years ago.
My grandparents remain the most handsome couple I have ever known:
Throughout their lives, they were dashing, happy and full of life:
This is my favorite picture of their young family (including my mother and her brother, Dibby):
I took these pictures from an album my mother made for her parents on their 60th wedding anniversary. Her caption says, “The secret to a happy marriage” and I couldn’t have said it better myself:
If you look closely at the last two pictures, you will notice my grandparents standing in front of the same house. They lived in that home for over 60 years—a home that my grandfather built from the ground up. They raised two children, accommodated years of grandchildren visits, grew their own garden, hosted countless holidays, and lived, laughed and loved through 63 years of marriage all in that home. My grandparents continue to remind me (even in death) that you don’t need material things to be happy—you only need gratitude for what you do have and a love of family.
Happy Memorial Day everyone!
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