Dear Old Goat,

Today, on this crisp and beautiful fall morning, you left me. Grandparents naturally go before grandchildren and I always thought that when this moment finally came, that given our connection, I would somehow know. That I would feel it deep down in my soul. But, last night I slept like a baby.

I am writing you this letter because, even though I saw you recently, there's so much I wanted to say - and that I did say, but that I'm not sure you heard in your condition. I wanted to say that I am still that same little girl you loved all those years ago. That I always knew that I was your favorite and that was our little secret. That I'm sorry that at some point I became too cool to laugh at your corny jokes (I still thought they were funny). That I admire and respect you tremendously. That you have shaped the person I have become in so many positive ways. That every time I go swimming I think of all those summers when you would take me to the Tashua Pool. That my husband ("Ladder Legs" as you always called him) reminds me so much of you, and every time I see it, I smile to myself with pride.

That I love you and that I will tell my children all about you one day. About how you used to tell the waitress at the diner that whenever Grandma was late to meet you it was because her boyfriend's motorcycle broke down. About how you used to joke that your mother used to put the dog in a bonnet and walk it around the neighborhood in a buggy, because "he was a better looking fellow" than you. About how you were a wonderful person, who was never bitter about life's hardships and stood by people through thick and thin.

I will truly, truly miss you.

With all of my love.
Rachel