R.I.P. Grandpa Matt Pacyna

Unfortunately, last week we lost my grandpa Matt. He had been fighting some mysterious illnesses for a while, and in the last month, we kind of knew that the end was near for him. Thankfully, pretty much our entire family was able to get out to see him, and without directly saying so, we were able to say our goodbyes before things went completely downhill.

At the funeral, my sister and I discussed our favorite story about our Grandpa. I was 9 or 10 years old, and as a treat, my grandparents offered to drive my sister and I to the Museum of Science and Industry, which is just south of the downtown area of Chicago.

We lived in Franklin Park at the time, which is right smack next to O'Hare airport. On most weekends back then, you could probably make the drive from our house to the Museum in maybe a little under an hour, probably more given the usual traffic. So we figured we'd go for the trip, spend a little time at the Museum, and then head home for dinner.

Our trouble began when my Grandpa announced that he was going to take "a short cut" to get to the museum. Now my sister and I were obviously too young to drive at the time, so we didn't exactly know all of the best ways around the city at that point. So we sat in the back seat, and figured he knew best.

That usually hour long drive somehow ended up turning into a THREE HOUR DRIVE before we finally somehow ended up at the Museum, slightly before its closing time. We ended up somehow driving around parts of the city and suburbs that we didn't even know existed before we finally made our way there. My sister and I had a great laugh all the way there, and the idea of a "Grandpa short cut" would forever be cemented in our minds.

Thankfully Bella got to see her great grandpa a few times in her life, and she got to see what a sweet and kindhearted man he was. We all hope he's gone on to a better place now, and is taking the best Grandpa shortcuts to all the places he's been, all the places he's ever wanted to go, to the homes and hearts of all the friends and family who have loved him. Take care Grandpa.