Thursday, January 15, 2009

Leo Bernard Schwierjohann

My granddad passed away around 1am this morning. He'd been suffering from and illness for quite sometime and finally went home to God this morning.

While I am still extremely sad about his passing, I have an extreme sense of peace and closure. He decided on Sunday to stop treatment, so I was able to call and talk to him to tell him, "goodbye." My brother and I also knew over Christmas that he wasn't going to be around much longer, so we got him a card and each wrote notes telling him how much we loved him. He knew we did.

I was able to thank him for the many things he's done for me. He bought me my first keyboard when I was in elementary school and encouraged me to keep taking piano lessons. When I would visit, he would have me play his little keyboard (the same exact kind as mine) to show him what I had learned. When mine broke, he gave me his. I only took lessons for a few years early in school, but I had that keyboard until Freshman year of college. When I graduated from college, he and my parents when in together and bought me a very nice Kawai Digital Piano for my graduation present. I play that thing almost everyday.

When he couldn't drive his car anymore, he gave it to me! It's a wonderful 1998 Oldsmobile which I named Bernard after him. That thing is a tank!

He was able to make it to my senior recital in the spring of 2007, so he got the chance to see me sing and he bragged to all the nurses about it.

He was a great man! He told the same stories every time we came to visit, but I never got tired of hearing them. Stories about how the Cincinnati Reds approached him to play baseball for them after WWII, but once he said he was 30 and had a wife they changed their minds...how he was throwing the split knuckle pitch long before anyone else...tons of stories from the war when he was a foot soldier running around in Germany. My favorite memory (and my brother will agree) is from a Christmas when we were VERY small. In his old house, he had a fireplace and mantle. On Christmas Eve, Shaun and I decided we were going to sleep by the fireplace so we could see Santa when he came down the chimney. Granddad then replied by picking up his BB gun and saying, "I'm going to shoot Santa when he comes down the chimney." We cried and cried and cried *obviously too little to understand the joke*. HAHA we STILL laugh about that and I'm SURE my brother will tell his kids the exact same thing.

I've lost a NUMBER of people in my life...that number nearing 20, but Granddad is the closest. My Grandma *his wife* died when I was in the 2nd grade, so I don't really remember much of that, and my step-grandma, Matty, died on my 21st birthday, but they had only been married about 8 years, so I didn't really know her very well either.

This is a sad time in our lives, but I know he's in Heaven playing baseball and flirting with all the women angels. I know I'll see him again!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Staying down on the farm

Many of you know that I have been talking about leaving my current Bob Evans job for quite some time now. I have tried multiple times and nothing has ever worked out. Before Thanksgiving break, I put in applications everywhere and the only response I got ended up not working out because I could only work 1 of the 2 required lunch shifts.
The past little bit, I've been working on going to a different restaurant. I thought I was a shoe in because a friend of mine has worked there for a few years and pretty much did everything for me. All the way from talking me up, to turning my application in to the right manager and checking on the status of it. The manager's response? "She doesn't have enough availability." I put every free moment of my life on that schedule (which, admittedly is not a ton, but it's still 4 days!) Apparently, even the one thing that was "totally going to get me out of Bob Evans" also failed.

(a little back story)
I've worked at Bob's since I was 17. I've made really good money at both other stores I worked at and I loved the people I worked with. At this one...I don't make much at all, and a large majority of my co-workers for some reason do not like me - something I'm completely unfamiliar with feeling...

While I've been on this 'other restaurant is a sure thing' kick, I've started to notice a change at my current job...my co-workers have been opening up to me like CRAZY. There have been many comments about how I'm "the coolest church person they've ever met" and things along those lines. How BLIND have I been!? How many doors does God have to slam in my face before I realize that I'm exactly where I need to be in terms of employment!? The reason I had to stick it out is because for some reason...most of these people have been really burned by the church. (This isn't a fact, it's an assumption). The mere mention of the fact that I was at Seminary of all places automatically raised red flags that have taken since AUGUST to be lowered. God is moving in really great ways where I work, and as much as I'd rather have a better paying job (join the club right?) I know I'm exactly where I need to be.

I wonder how many more awesome things He will do now that I'm not bitter about my employment!? Holy cow the possibilities are ENDLESS and I can't wait!!!