[New] I am a grandfather. And I love it! Hopefully my granddaughters will have good memories down the line – of “Popi.” But sadly I have no memory of my grandfathers.

My father’s parents were born in Denmark and both died before I was born (1947). My father’s dad (Olaf Kristian Petersen) in 1930 and my dad’s mother (Ellen Marie Larsen) in 1945. And my mother’s father died when I was two. So I never knew him either. I have a special old photo of him holding me. And that’s it. My Grandma Ruth Munson though was a staple in my life – helping generously to feed my stamp and coin collections.

Donna and I are going through things we have accumulated. No plans to move but we’re thinking about that next “chapter.” And I came across the wedding rings of my father’s parents – Olaf and Ellen. They are inscribed “EML to OKP” and “OKP to EML” and both have the date of marriage – “May 16, 1910.” The two rings are 18 carat gold. It occurred to me that I could sell them and put the money into college funds for my granddaughters. And yet. . . .

We had dinner with some friends and I posed the question of “what to do” with such special family things. The group unanimously felt that we should keep them. Carefully mark them and put them away. For someone down the line to decide. I came home – and took off my wedding ring. And put on Olaf’s ring. It fit perfectly. I then put Ellen’s ring on my little finger. I said a prayer. Removed them and carefully marked the box with the rings – and put them away. . . .