Mr. Wonderful on this Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving. A season that always reminds me so much of my Grandpa who is also affectionately known as Mr. Wonderful. A self given title, but true all the same. Besides my dad he was the only other significant male figure my life. I love that man and miss him terribly. Before Liam, he was the closest person to me that died.

Mr. Wonderful LOVED Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure it was his favorite holiday. He loved the food and was always first in line when it was time to eat. He would usually be back in line getting seconds right behind the last person in line. Did I mention he loved the food? All food? He loved Thanksgiving naps too. Well, he loved naps everyday actually, but his large Thanksgiving meal was notoriously followed by a nap.

But more than that, I think he loved Thanksgiving so much because it meant time with family. Oh how he loved his family. He had six grandkids but I'm pretty sure I was the favorite. I'm also positive that if you asked the other five they would say the same thing too. He had a way of making us all feel like the favorite and made sure we knew how much he loved and adored us. When I was in college Mr. Wonderful wrote me a letter every week I was away. EVERY WEEK. My BFF Aimee, would even look forward to the letters from Mr. Wonderful. I would get them on Wednesday usually and he would always include comics and pizza money. I'm sad my younger cousins didn't get to experience that. I also remember growing up, he had a pet rhinoceros named George. Mysteriously, George was always in jail for some reason or another when we would come to visit so we never got to meet him. But oh, the stories he would tell about George. George was pretty ornery, just like Mr. Wonderful.

I miss him today and will be thinking of him constantly. I remember the last words I ever heard him speak to me, "I love you." I know he will be with us today and I know he has his namesake, my precious Liam Miller, with him. For that, I am Thankful.