happy birthday to you

I am not going to lie-this morning I woke up with no creative thoughts to share, no grand DIYs to make sure you knew about. But I got lucky, I was reminded that today my grandpa or as we called him, Grandan (grandpa + Dante = Grandan) would have been celebrating a birthday. 

thanks to my Aunt Mary for the photo!

Grandan was one of the smartest, most worldly, and inspiring people I knew and certainly wish I could have known him longer in my adult life so I could truly appreciate it all. I love hearing from my mom about all the love letters he sent my grandma over the years-he was was quite the romantic.

I have quite a few great memories of Grandan, but one of my favorites was the time he took my brother (Tj), sister (Olivia), and me out on his boat.  We were all giddy to be out on the boat and happy to be out on the water and enjoying some quality time with him. As we were zooming along the Long Island Sound, he turned to me and said, "Want to take over?" Of course I was thrilled and eagerly stepped up to take the wheel....I couldn't have been much more than 12 or 13, so this was all a pretty big deal and felt pretty epic when Grandan encouraged me to go even faster! It was quite a ride-I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling....
So cheers to you Grandan, we all miss you and wish you were still here to celebrate! 


Do you have any special ways of remembering those who you have lost on their birthdays?