My Grandpa is really sick. Mum phoned at about 7:30am this morning and told me the news. Now the fact that he is sick alone is not a new one - he's had a breathing machine for a few years now... but this is serious, he's in hospital and he doesn't have long. I of course took the news the same way most people would, by crying, then discussing the details.

It's so sad, I love my grandies so much, and they've been together for over 50 years (I was at that anniversary) and Grandpa's 80th Birthday is on the 27th December, so only mere weeks away. They have lived a full life, with plenty of travel and a close, loving family (four sons, seven grand children and I would have to say that they have been the second biggest influences in my life.

But I know that Grandpa will be going to a better place, sad but true. The person who I'm most worried about is Grandma, whom I have loved as a Grandma, a friend, an advisory figure, a sister, a mother and every other respected female figure that you may care the think of. She is the salt of the earth, and I'm so concerned that as she wades through the early stages of dimensia and beyond that she will forget about her lifelong love, about the family that they had and about their many houses, grand and modest alike. She somehow connects with every generation with ease and she has always had advice to suit.

But back to Grandpa - through the years he has come into money, and lost it just as quickly. He found a passion late in life that was taken with him as his lungs started to fail - Lawn Bowls - he loved it, lived it even. He was always an inventer - going to the markets on a Sunday to sell the latest of his creations was a point of comedy among the family. He is my father's father, the last of my grandfathers and I will sorely miss the phone conversations with him in the bedroom on his breathing machine, and grandma in the kitchen, both bantering on, almost to the point of forgetting that I was there. They joined their single beds back up in their 70s and weren't afraid to flirt in public... True loves and soul mates.

He is in a drug induced coma to make him more comfortable, and I hope that the powers that be take him in peace, and keep him safe where it is he must go. It is sad to type this and think that I won't get to see him again, that any breath could be his last - but I am a realist, and these are facts and I will accept them.

Grandpa, it was such a pleasure knowing you these last 24 years. You have made me laugh through the years, but never cry. I admire your strength and courage to have lasted out what must have been a painful time for you this past little while. I will remember you fondly and with great love. I wish you peace and happiness,days full of Solitaire and Bowls, nights full of catching up with old friends. Most of all, I wish for your life to be pain free and for you to be able to breathe again freely and without assistance. With us you will remain, in spirit and memory for eternity. Thank you for being a part of my life. Your loving Granddaughter, Amber.