I post few intensely personal things here on FA, unless they affect my commission queue or they're super happy things like ultrasounds. This, unfortunately, is not a happy personal thing.

My father called me earlier this evening and left a brief message letting me know that my grandfather passed away not too long before that. He was very quiet and matter-of-fact, and told me that it was ok, he went quick. He told me to call him anytime I needed to talk.

I don't speak with my family much...I love and miss them, but we don't really get along for long periods of time. The decent exception to this was my grandfather. He was gruff, and coarse, and cursed alot, and if you made him mad, ooh, you better watch out. He was a retired Air Force Master Sergeant, and it showed. But I remember him playing peek-a-boo behind his handkerchief with me as a toddler. I remember seeing him do the same thing with my first daughter. ...I had hoped to see him do the same thing with our twins in a few months.

I'm in alot of grief, and I haven't experienced the death of a close relative ever before, so I don't really know how I'm supposed to be reacting. I alternate between crying and being almost organized about what I need to do, and who I need to call. I feel frozen right now - I haven't even brought myself to call my father back, or ask how it happened, or what my grandmother's plans are for the funeral, or anything. I don't know how to ask those things...or at least how to ask them without bursting into tears.

I will be away from artwork for a bit, until we figure out when we need to fly out for the funeral, (if I can still fly), and uh...yeah. I apologize to those waiting for their finalized pieced from me- just give me about a week to recoup and have everything as back to normal as I can. I'm sorry.

~Blossome