32 Comments

I love every syllable of this post. Thank you so much — and happy birthday!

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Thank you, Melissa!

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Happy Birthday! And thank you for sharing this beautiful tribute! If we are lucky, we get to grow old, and witness the changes in ourselves and others. If we are really lucky, we get to encourage those around us to shine brightly in their own lives.

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Very true!

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These are beautiful poems, as is the tribute to your grandfather. Happy birthday! I like to celebrate mine by curling up with a good book. I think “trying to capture the world in all its ephemeral beauty” is a wonderful goal!

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Thank you for this artful tribute to your grandfather, Grant. It’s absolutely beautiful. What a lovely way to celebrate your birthday.

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Happy Birthday, Grant! My own 39th birthday is in less than two weeks. Feels like a good time to make plans for the future.

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First, happy birthday. Second, I am touched by both poems. I am remembering when I was a young and attending the funeral for my step-brother lost in birth. There is a story there I won't bore you with, but I am happy to have this melancholy remembrance and to read the collaboration between you and your grandfather. Thank you.

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Very young!! Happy Birthday!!🎉

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Happy Birthday Grant!!! You are so young!!!

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Both poems are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing with us, and happy happy birthday!

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What a beautiful post and a lovely tribute to your grandfather. Happy Birthday, Grant! I hope you had a wonderful day. 🥳

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Happy Birthday! That is a good plan to celebrate your next decade 😊. Loved the post and the poem. The last four years filled with a lot of trauma and soul crushing loss has taught me one thing - there is only the ‘now.’

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Happy Birthday! Love this tribute.

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My dad and me and my sister planted an oak tree in front of his grandmothers house when we were kids. We took a picture of me and her by it when none of the three of us peaked three feet. Twenty years later, we took the same picture. We’re all taller now, which I’m very grateful for. I await the next picture, though I don’t imagine I’ll be any taller.

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I share your love for old houses and the stories they 'conjure.' (great word there, Grant) Recently, I followed a FB group called Old House Lovers that shows photos of grand Victorians that have been restored. Sometimes the page posts before and after shots that are quite remarkable. Talk about resurrection! Back in the 70s and 80s, whenf the trend to renew these stately homes began, it cost a person's life savings and then some to restore a Victorian. Now it must be unimaginable. How do they do it? But I'm really glad they do. (I hope the Admin of this group isn't just using AI to produce the photos. sigh)

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Love this!

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That's beautiful. And congratulations!

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