The Grandpa that climbed the mountain...


Taken on our Lost Lake Camping Trip in August of 2011
 For awhile now, William will occasionally comment about the picturesque Mt. Hood we view as we drive home.  He's commented before that "It's the mountain that Grandpa climbed."  Our conversations in the past have never really led anywhere.  Today was different.  The conversation took a twist I wasn't expecting, and well, here it is:

W:  "There's the Mountain that Grandpa climbed Mom!" (as he points excitedly out the window)

Me: "The Grandpa?  Which Grandpa climbed Mt. Hood?" 
        Having never spoke of any Grandpa climbing any mountain, I was curious...

W: "You know, the one when we were with Sean and Cheri at camping?" 
      We take an annual trip to Lost Lake every August with some friends from church and I thought maybe he was thinking about Cheri's Dad who came up last year and spent some time with us.

Me: "You mean Cheri's Dad that came up to visit while we were there?"

W: "No Mom.  The one who's Grandma is all alone now.  The Grandma in California."

Me: "You mean Great Grandma Carmelita?  Mom's Grandma?"

W: "Yeah!"
     Mind you, William was born after my Grandpa passed away in July of 2007 so he's never met him.  I've spoke of him before, but only at the depth that a 4yr old mind can comprehend.  At this point in our conversation, I was thinking he was just making up stories.  I pressed on.

Me: "Did you actually see Great Grandpa William?"

W: "Yeah."

Me: "Really?  Did he talk to you?"

W: "Yeah.  I saw him standing next to me."

Me: "But did he say anything to you?" 

W: "Nope."

Me: "Well, then what did he do?"

W: "He climbed up the mountain and then he fell off.  Now we'll see him in Heaven with Max (our dog that died last July), and those two boys (Dawson and Devin from our church that were both killed in a car accident 2 years ago), and our uncle Curtis (my uncle who was killed in a motorcycle crash a yr and a half ago)."
     All of this said with a big smile on his face (o;

Me:...I didn't even know what to say at this point.  I was stunned.  I sat wondering if he actually did get to see Grandpa William.  The way a child's mind thinks and processes things at his age amazes me.  This isn't the first time he's blown me out of the water like this.  When he was just over 2yrs old, he randomly pointed at a picture I had on a shelf in our home of my Grandpa William and I.  Being that he was just two, I had never explained who Grandpa William was and yet he looked up, pointed his finger at the picture and said, "He dead."  Again, I didn't know what to say...I do believe that children, without all of the pressures of this life and world pressing in on them, are more in touch...more in tune with God and his work in their hearts; able to experience things through their tender, innocent lives that we as adults often don't see due to how caught up we are in the busyness of our everyday lives.  We'll see what comes of William's spiritual intuition...Right now, it's brought me to tears.

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