So I got $50 for christmas as I always do. The wife's grandparents give a $50 gift to each child, grandchild, and great grandchild for Christmas. (And $25 for birthdays. Easier than shipping toys and stuff around the country/world) Typically it was a check made out to the household to cover everyone. ($50 per person) This year was markedly different. Each person in my immediate received a card with a $50 bill in it. From Grandpa, not Grandma and Grandpa as usual. (really, from Grandma, with Grandpa's signature as she passed them by him. We all know how that works. 
)
Here is a little background. This year the grandparents were in their mid 90s. Grandpa has been in poor health for years. We have lived our lives for the past 5+ years anticipating a call that he had passed. Grandma had diabeetus but it was under control. She was still active and seemingly healthy. We had a great visit in August on our way through town as we returned from vacation and she looked great. (we vacation near their town) She passed suddenly in early November. Grandpa was taken to the hospital 2 weeks ago and was told his health problems were getting worse, and he would need heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to stabilize him so they could take care of the other stuff. They realized he was worse off than they thought while waiting on a bed at the CC and he passed several days later, pretty much as soon as he was transferred to hospice care.
At Christmas at the inlaws we were given these cards that were mailed as a group by my aunt who lived with them to my MIL to be handed out. Grandpa took over after Grandma passed to continue the tradition. He also sent the "love gifts" (she wrote that in the memo of her checks ) for my sister in law's birthday as well as for my FiL/MiL's anniversary. (they were married on Christmas day while he was home on leave from the air force) He died shortly after sending them. He literally wrapped up the year's gifts before passing and made sure everyone got their gifts this year.
So here is my dilemma. This is a unique $50. It came from the man who I rarely spoke with because he wasnt very social. He was a good man, but very introverted. He became more so after his health declined and he had trouble speaking. He went out of his way to do a special deed and to pick up the slack after his wife of 70+ years passed away. My first reaction was to save it. It has meaning. But I think I can put it to better use.
He was known for being a handy guy. My now retired FiL wrote his first blog post after writing a regular column in the paper for years. It was about the return home to the empty house and the stuff that was missing. He mentioned that he taught his son in law many things handyman related. So that is where I am going with this.
What says INGO? What handyman thing can I buy with that $50? Something useful like a tool that I can cherish and use in my handyman moments. And maybe even pass it on to my kids. Something I can put to good use and carry on his memory.
Even better to give you some direction for a post I was going to put up after this but I just had an "ah-hah!" moment. He was a trustee in his church. When he could still drive, I recall he would drive the mile or so to his church regularly in the evenings to make sure it was secured after the various daily activities. I am now heavily involved in my new church and we are going through a security upgrade. One of the tasks I have is installing locks on a bunch of doors that dont have locks to make our building compatible with the Avoid/Deny/Defend principle. I found using a chisel to cut the rectangle of wood out to install the bolt plate in the door is slow going. Painfully slow. Anyone know of a power tool that will quickly mortise out that rectangle for the bolt plate? I think that would be a fitting tribute to his service to the church... to continue securing MY church.
)Here is a little background. This year the grandparents were in their mid 90s. Grandpa has been in poor health for years. We have lived our lives for the past 5+ years anticipating a call that he had passed. Grandma had diabeetus but it was under control. She was still active and seemingly healthy. We had a great visit in August on our way through town as we returned from vacation and she looked great. (we vacation near their town) She passed suddenly in early November. Grandpa was taken to the hospital 2 weeks ago and was told his health problems were getting worse, and he would need heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic to stabilize him so they could take care of the other stuff. They realized he was worse off than they thought while waiting on a bed at the CC and he passed several days later, pretty much as soon as he was transferred to hospice care.
At Christmas at the inlaws we were given these cards that were mailed as a group by my aunt who lived with them to my MIL to be handed out. Grandpa took over after Grandma passed to continue the tradition. He also sent the "love gifts" (she wrote that in the memo of her checks ) for my sister in law's birthday as well as for my FiL/MiL's anniversary. (they were married on Christmas day while he was home on leave from the air force) He died shortly after sending them. He literally wrapped up the year's gifts before passing and made sure everyone got their gifts this year.
So here is my dilemma. This is a unique $50. It came from the man who I rarely spoke with because he wasnt very social. He was a good man, but very introverted. He became more so after his health declined and he had trouble speaking. He went out of his way to do a special deed and to pick up the slack after his wife of 70+ years passed away. My first reaction was to save it. It has meaning. But I think I can put it to better use.
He was known for being a handy guy. My now retired FiL wrote his first blog post after writing a regular column in the paper for years. It was about the return home to the empty house and the stuff that was missing. He mentioned that he taught his son in law many things handyman related. So that is where I am going with this.
What says INGO? What handyman thing can I buy with that $50? Something useful like a tool that I can cherish and use in my handyman moments. And maybe even pass it on to my kids. Something I can put to good use and carry on his memory.
Even better to give you some direction for a post I was going to put up after this but I just had an "ah-hah!" moment. He was a trustee in his church. When he could still drive, I recall he would drive the mile or so to his church regularly in the evenings to make sure it was secured after the various daily activities. I am now heavily involved in my new church and we are going through a security upgrade. One of the tasks I have is installing locks on a bunch of doors that dont have locks to make our building compatible with the Avoid/Deny/Defend principle. I found using a chisel to cut the rectangle of wood out to install the bolt plate in the door is slow going. Painfully slow. Anyone know of a power tool that will quickly mortise out that rectangle for the bolt plate? I think that would be a fitting tribute to his service to the church... to continue securing MY church.
