My grandfather, Wayne Kerns, died during his sleep sometime Saturday night, a few weeks shy of his 80th birthday. Grandpa Tumblebug (my nickname for him) loved to laugh and make others laugh. When I think of him, I will always picture him like this:

Grandpa Tumblebug also loved to strum, sing and fiddle.

That’s why our children — his great-grandchildren — are learning to appreciate music. “You have to learn to play the violin before you learn to fiddle with it,” Grandpa Tumblebug told our son, who’s already learning “Orange Blossom Special,” Grandpa’s favorite and mine.

Our daughter isn’t far behind. She can play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” now. And as soon as our youngest gets out of diapers, we’ll see how she takes to the violin, too.