We had the opportunity this year to attend the annual "Heaps" reunion (A.K.A. Pulsipher Reunion). Although it was freezing cold and wet camping on the mountain this year, we still had a great time. This year was a little extra emotional for me (and maybe for others, too) due to it coinciding with the funeral of Grandpa Pulsipher. We set up camp on Friday, August 3, then on Saturday, we drove the 45 minutes to St. Johns for the funeral. It was fun to see family and friends and renew associations. The service was beautiful. I think what honored him most was at the end when all his grandchildren and great grandchildren sang the closing song. There are 22 grandchildren and 53 great grandchildren. We filled the choir loft to overflowing!
One of my first memories of Grandpa Pulsipher is driving with him out to feed and check on his cattle. I remembered being in the front seat of his truck driving down the dirt road talking about his cows and farm. Once he reached a certain spot, he pulled over and started honking his horn. All of a sudden, a huge herd of cattle would start appearing. Helping grandpa with the chores was one of the things I loved best about visiting him. I also loved to go with him out back to his garden. I couldn't believe how much he grew and everything was delicious! I loved so much about him, but especially his smile and concern for others. The last time we visited him in St. Johns he sat both the kids on his lap and talked to them personally. He was 93 years old. Among other things, he told them to always show love and respect to their parents and be obedient to them. He also encouraged them to get a good education. They are very young, but I hope they retain some kind of memory of that special day. It was very hard leaving Grandpa's house that day.......
That evening after the funeral, we returned to the mountain and camped until the following Wednesday. One of the highlights was Justin and Tammi (Jeff's cousins) camping with us. They usually don't have the opportunity to come due to living so far away, but they were here for the funeral and spent a couple days on the mountain, too. It was a very memorable reunion!
2 comments:
I feel so honored to be mentioned in your blog! And I read your post about Florida and I totally want to go there now. How far from Disneyworld is it?
It is about 2 hours from Disneyworld. 2 years ago we stayed at the same resort for a week. We spent 2 of the days going to Disneyworld. It was a blast, but there is so much to see at Disneyworld and the beach is so fun too, that we dedided it should be 2 different vacations. We are planning on going to Disneyworld again when the kids get a little older, but we are going to stay there. It is so amazing you could easily spend a week just doing that.
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