The death of a good man

When I was 14 years old, I started dating my husband. We were never NOT serious. There were no high school break ups or arguments where we didn't talk for weeks. A lot of our friends had relationships like that but we never did. In fact, we would end up engaged before we graduated high school and married after our first year in college. When I was meeting my husbands family for the first time, he could not wait to introduce me to his grandparents. He is super close with his dad's parents. He spent a lot of time as a child with them. His parents both had full time jobs and his Nana watched him. When his papa got home he would run up and jump into his arms. He taught his Papa to play Mario Brothers the "right way" when he was four. His grandparents had a definite influence on the man my husband would become. They fostered his love for learning and really when he was pretty young he may have spent more time with them than he sometimes spent with his own parents. I fell instantly in love with Nana and Papa. They were a strong couple who loved one another fiercely. They weren't as demonstrative as my family has always been but you could look at them and just tell they would do anything for one another.

With 40+ years of marriage under their belt, I loved listening to stories of their adventures together. Traveling with the military all over the world, illnesses overcome, struggles of having kids 11 years apart... so many stories. And sometimes we would bust out all the old pictures. "That is Bobby in Japan when he went to his Junior prom" "wow, that dress is... interesting. was that the style" "Oh yea, Bobby would not have went to the prom with an 'uncool' girl". When we went to our own Senior prom, Nana and Papa's house was a place that was on our list to visit. We ate dinner at their house every single Sunday evening through most of our high school years. We would play spades. I was usually on Papa's team and we would laugh and play for hours. We also played uno often. And we watched sports (I am pretty sure they would watch any sport on television if Glenn Beck wasn't on... oddly enough Papa claims to be a democrat). Sometimes we would just be running around town hanging out and just stop in on a Saturday afternoon and raid the fridge. I am sure they knew that meant we were broke but they loved it ;) I was part of their family. I am part of their family. I have even gotten a few coveted hugs from Papa. As in, it is almost unheard of to see him hug someone. It has been so easy to love them.

This morning, Papa's body finally stopped struggling after battling lung cancer. We did get home in time to say good bye to a man who has been such an influence in our lives. He did wake up for a while and talk to us. MW great aunt told him she loved him and he replied with his usual wit " I love me too!" Seeing him struggle was very hard. I think everyone told him it was okay to stop the fight because seeing him like that was by far one of the hardest things I have ever seen. Such an independent man. He was a master sergeant in the air force and he didn't take orders from anyone. He did things his own way and he earned his way and worked hard in life. A man absolutely full to the brim of integrity. Honest, loyal, kind, and witty. Without a doubt one of the most intelligent men I have ever met. When people tell me that my husband reminds them of his Papa, I am proud.

Today has been kind of somber. I have been trying to explain to my four year old how when you are older and sick, your body eventually stops working. There have been no tears from him yet but he has told me that he is very sad. He also asked if he was dying. *sigh*. I told him he was young and healthy and strong and not to worry about dying. I don't know if those are the right words but I don't want him to be scared of death.

Anyway, if you could say a prayer for our family or send them some love right now, that would be awesome. Nana is, obviously, crushed right now. They have been married for 50+ years. I think I have written enough. I just felt like getting a bit out. It is weird how you can just find out someone has died and already miss them like they have been gone a very long time.