I’ve been distant for the past couple of weeks. Not on purpose, just trying to figure out how to word what I wanted to say. Family means a lot to us so there isn’t much we’re not willing to go through to see our family. Last week we traveled back to our hometown the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to spend time with his family. The Dillon family can be overwhelmingly large when you put everyone, including step families, together. This get together was exceptionally hard given that we were gathering, not only to celebrate Memorial Day, but for the “spring burial” of Alex’s (step) grandfather, Tom.
I’ve been an honorary member of the Dillon/Reinholm/Mochty/Groff family for years but this brought relatives I’ve never met. The ceremony was short and sweet and we all wore Michigan State University jackets since it was his favorite team. I’m almost positive that he hasn’t missed a State game since his stepchildren went to MSU. Tom was a lot of things: a lover of golf, family, MSU, hunting, collecting old war patches, and the list goes on. Every time I saw him I was learning something new about him (and gaining an appreciation for watching golf on TV). He was rarely seen without a toothpick hanging out of his mouth and, somehow, he made watching golf the most hilarious experience ever.
After the memorial and lunch, we ended up at his grandmother’s house and everyone was able to take something that reminded them of Tom. Alex ended up with his collection of patches and we all looked through old pictures and knickknacks. It was hard for everyone emotionally and it was a surprise to be going through things that day. But Alex got what he “wanted” and I was given an MSU sweatshirt since it was a sin for me not to have MSU stuff and a book about golf jokes and we were off to my grandpa’s house to see him and my mom.
We had the books of patches out on the kitchen table that night and my grandfather, who served in 2 wars-one in the army and one in the navy-saw a couple that were familiar. It led to wonderful conversations about his experiences in the war, the people he met, and which patches he had. A couple of them he had to look up what they meant since it had been so long since he’d worn them and he was flabbergasted by the amount of patches and designs there were now.
We all sat at the table after dinner that night talking and learning from each other until my mom finally reminded us there were dishes to be done. It was a wonderful experience and I’m thankful we were able to have that conversation with mi abuelo and grateful that Tom was able to give us a gift that seemed to have a much greater purpose.
dillonfamilyvalues 