What a Ceremony!

We had a wonderful "funeral" for Grandpa.  I am putting that in quotation marks because it was a bit untraditional.  We had a lakeside ceremony where my parents lived for 30 years.  My brother and I read poems my father had written and we shared a memory.  Of the 25 people there, most of them shared a memory, I read ones my own children had written, they were wonderful.  We sang "How Great Thou Art" (Grandpa's favorite) and a big goose across the lake sang along with us!  Then we launched a Viking Ship (toy boat) with a flickering electric candle and a flag with my Dad's initials on it into the lake.  Each of us tossed in a yellow rose because my Dad was nuts about yellow and used to grow roses. The ashes were scattered from a plastic bag that was in a cardboard box!  At the end we popped a bottle of champagne and toasted Grandpa.

 

After we went to a place called The Chicken Coop, isn't that a bizarre name?  It was kind of a classy sports bar. Grandpa used to play cards there, and we had a dinner in a private room and played polka music which was his favorite. There were a few card players in another room that knew Grandpa so we went over and said hello. 

 

Some people might be perplexed by the lack of tradition, but we actually loved it and my Uncle Don said, "Rollie would have been sorry he missed it."  I can just imagine my Dad telling someone else about the ceremony and telling them, "It was just wonderful."  

 

Memories of Grandpa

Memories of Grandpa

Will

"Lo-do-de-do-do... lo-do-de-do-do..."

One of my favorite things about going to Grandma and Grandpa's house when I was a kid was making bread with Grandpa. I would wake up in the morning, poke my head out the door, and hear from the kitchen,"Lo-do-de-do-do... lo-do-de-do-do..." and I'd rush to go join him. Ifind myself absentmindedly humming that refrain all the time, in elevators or around my apartment. We baked all sorts of things together, from cinnamon rolls to danishes to brand new, originalconcoctions. Grandpa was always trying something new. It's one of the things I really loved about him -- he was unafraid of stepping out into the unknown and trying new things. He wrote books, painted pictures, ran for office. I remember one time, being at an ice cream store, and there was a young couple there with a baby, and Grandpajust waltzed up and started talking to them. It blew my eight year old mind that you could just talk to people you didn't know. And not just talk to them, but make them laugh and make them feel special, make them feel like he cared. And that wasn't just a one time thing – he did that all the time. It's something Grandpa was really great at and it's something I try to emulate in my own life.

Megan

My clearest, strongest memory of being Rollie Reynolds' granddaughter is dancing with him at the saddle club. It was always important to go to the mall to pick out dresses, and grandpa loved to help pick them out - he had very clear opinions on what was appropriate for pretty girls! I remember dancing in a twirly skirt, and being proudly introduced to everyone who would listen. I continue to love to dance, but grandpa will always be confused that I don't know the polka! 

Kerry

My favorite memory of Grandpa is making bread with him. He always brought a tall stool for me to stand or kneel on so I could see into the bread maker and he had to tell me to be patient when waiting for the yeast to be ready. He never cared that I ate half of the dough and asked me if we needed more flour. He always poured the salt into my hand to use as a measuring cup. It was so much fun to make cinnamon rolls, or loaves of bread and share it with the whole family. I still love to make bread and muffins and share. I will always think of Grandpa when I bake.

Remembering Grandpa Reynolds

One thing I did fun with Grandpa Reynolds was volunteer on his campaign for congress! Remember being at the rally, standing on the bench of a picnic table and screaming "vote for Grandpa!!!!!!" ? we were certain that if we were enthusiastic enough, we really would win him some votes. We probably did, we were so cute :)

One thing I did nice for Grandpa was follow through on some advice I got: On one visit we drove over to put pennies on the train tracks and he asked me what color my hair was. I said it was dirty blonde. and he said "no, you shouldn't say anything about you is dirty. Your hair is auburn." I don't always say auburn, but I always correct people when they say my hair is dirty blonde.

<3

November 15th

What I did fun this week was teach Kerry Pilates! She is going to be my practice client. I really loved getting share my interests with her in such an involved way, and it is so helpful to practice teaching on someone I am comfortable with! What I did nice was LJ and I bought a slice of pizza and water bottle for a homeless man who had asked us for money.

It's almost the Marathon, It's almost Thanksgiving! yay!

First time

Go see my comment to mom's post. Just fig uring this awesome site out! Thank you Megan for setting up.

This Week!

What I did fun was see all my family in Phillie to celebrate Kerry's 19th Birthday.  I loved having all of us together!  My favorite moment was when we were at the Melting Pot talking about the books we have read from our Team Quinn Book Club.  What I did nice was return Grandpa Reynolds phone calls so he wouldn't be worried about us driving up and down the east coast during the hurricane! 

What I did fun this week was see that Megan had created this Team Quinn Blog!  Thank you Megan. What I will do fun tomorrow is celebrate the anniversary of the day Dad and I met 29 years ago.  Wow!!!  What I did nice was give a poster to two of my fellow teachers and laminate one of the posters. 

My Birthday Week!!

I've been super stressed out with my busyness and had some downs this week, but it's looking up and I'm doing a lot better! What I did fun was I decided who I'm living with next year, went to a health sciences meet and greet, worked out, and stayed on top of my work. What I did nice was I shared my dinner I made with my friend Sam. That's right, I shared food!!!! I was even the one who offered it!!!

Megan - October 15-19

What I did fun this week was perform a small role in a piece by one of my teachers from school, Eun Jung Choi. I wore white undies and a white swim cap.. my job was to bring white balloons on stage! Many of the professional dancers that I respect most in Philadelphia were in the show, so it was a lot of fun to be able to hang out with them backstage. The performance venue was also a few blocks down the street, so I got to walk through the pretty historic and fancy district of philly to get there. Easy and scenic route!
What I did nice this week was buy lunch for a friend who was still waiting on a paycheck to come in!