Saturday, April 13, 2013

A Real Life Love Story

As you may have been able to tell by some of my posts, I have not been a fan of 2013.  In the past two months my eagerness for this year to be over got only more strong.  In the past two months, I have lost the only grandparents I have ever known.  On March 29th, my grandfather, who I call Papa, passed away.  Papa has always been one of my favorite family members though I can't pin it down to just one reason why.  He was tall and sturdy which was always made me feel safe.  He loved to make jokes ("look at that three legged cow") which was endearing.  And he picked on Mama like a school boy with a crush which was cute.  He was like a teddy bear to me and could rarely do wrong in my eyes.

On that Friday at the end of March as I sat by his hospital bed holding his hand as he took his last breath he gave me a new reason to love him.  It was only forty five days earlier when Mama passed.  And life for Papa just wasn't worth living without her.  He has had heart failure for some time but it was pretty much under control so he could look after mama and make sure she was never put in a nursing home, always taken care of, and always there for.  After she passed in February, he became so sad and spoke about wanting to be with her again.  After he no longer had to physically be there to protect her, his job was done. 

Shortly after I arrived in that hospital room after my long drive after a long day to be there I told him I love him.  He replied to me, "I love you too."  A few hours later, it appeared those would be the last words he would ever speak.  I am honored his words were to me and comforted to know they were true.  I am even more in awe that he was a part of the greatest love story I may ever see.