For My Family

Hey everyone! I'm back!!!

I know it's been awhile. On Friday, October 12th, my grandfather, Ralph Louis Paust, passed away.

It has been a very tough week. My grandpa was the first man in my life that taught me about unconditional love. He taught me the kind of husband and father I should look for in a life partner. He was the ultimate example of love, caring, giving, and FUN!

I remember when I was little and would go spend summers with my grandparents, that he would give me a sip of his Budweiser every now and again. He worked for the St. Louis Brewery while living there, and in 1969, he moved to Florida and worked at that Brewery. Budweiser is a tradition in my family!

My family and I travelled to St. Louis for his funeral and burial. While there, my mom and I went and toured the brewery. It was so neat seeing where my grandfather worked all those years ago, and to see something that meant so much to him!

Clydesdale

I think this is Adolphus Busch

Mmm Beer!!

That's the budlight cans... MY BABIES!!! :)

 I also got to go up (twice) in the Arch - "The Gateway to the West". That was SO neat!!!

This was on our walk to the Arch. They have FALL! Isn't that so pretty!

That's the shadow of the Arch on the Mississippi river. I'm in the VERY top, taking this photo!

That's the St. Louis Ballpark, Busch Stadium.

 Those two sight-seeing events were really special to me! Eventually, I will go back and be able to enjoy my time there with my little family. It was a really beautiful place. My mom and I stayed at the Hilton at the Ballpark the first few days we were there and this was our view outside our window:

The Ballpark was RIGHT outside our window. How neat is that ?!

On Thursday, my grandfather was buried with military honors. He served as a Marine in WWII and was so proud of that. My brother's best friend, Jacob, entered the Marines in 2011 and my grandfather wanted to give him his Marine medals. It was special to him to know a fellow Marine. :-)

You mean more to me than you will ever know. And telling you goodbye  was the hardest thing to ever do.

 I have SO many wonderful memories of my grandpa. We used to play on the CB radio in his dining room together. My handle was "tiny hiney" and his was "ironhip". That was fun! It was the first "chat room". Talking to strangers - so neat!

My grandpa loved to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Actually, both my grandparents were game show fanatics!! I would play Vanna White in the downstairs living room with their gold curtains. He got such a kick out of that. They had a chair that had these large round decorative finnial-type things on the arms... I would always pretend I was on Press-Your-Luck and shout, "no whammies!" HAHAHA.

He always took me to swim at my Aunt Ann and Unlce Harry's house (Aunt Ann was my grandmother's cousin). He would swim with me. Race me. Catch me jumping off. Give me diving pointers. I enjoyed every minute! He'd also take me to Show Biz Pizza!!! Remember that place? Before it became Chuck E. Cheese? Ahhhh soooooooooo fun! We had the best time together.

I am going to miss him SO much. The last several years, I noticed myself becoming more and more distant. I regret it now. But, I knew THIS day would come, and I couldn't bare to handle it. It seemed distancing myself made it easier to handle. Unfortunately, that's not true at all. All I did was miss out on so much time when he was here. It kills me now to know that.

I hope he knows how sorry I am that I was that immature. I miss him already. And I loved him more than words could ever express. He was MY hero!!!! He loved me unconditionally and was ALWAYS there for me, no matter what.

I am so grateful that he walked me down the aisle at my wedding. It was so special to me. I am not sure if he ever knew that, but it meant the world to me.

The greatest day of my LIFE!

Giving me kisses before I went to put my dress on!

Grandpa,

I will miss you. I will miss your humor, your hugs, your kisses on my lips, and you telling me that I will always be your baby. From this day forward, all men will be compared to you; they have a LOT to live up to. No one could ever replicate the relationship and love that we shared. I hope I make you proud.

Always,
Your Baby!