Grandpa

I spoke at his funeral on Wednesday. I was nervous and emotional and was going to try to write something better here. But I'm stuck. So I'm just going to post what I've got so far.

I was very lucky to be his first grandchild. I had 37 years with him as my Grandpa. He was a special man.

Kids can really make you weepy and lighten the moment sometimes all at the same time. On Thomas' birthday, I was in Lubbock helping at the hospital with Grandpa. I called him early that morning to sing Happy Birthday to him. After I finished, he said, "Thank you, Mommy. Do we need to come to Lubbock? Is Twopa bad or good?"

On Tuesday morning, after his death on Saturday, we were driving over to Grandma's from Dale and Wanda's when Thomas asked me, "Why did Twopa have to die?" I explained that it was his time to go be with Jesus. He then talked about how Twopa was in heaven with Zack, our dog who died a year ago, and said, "Well, he'd better watch out!" I asked why and he said, "Old Zackie Boy bites!" After we stopped laughing, I told him I doubted Zack bit in heaven.


It was an honor and a priviledge to be there to help while he was dying. I could fluff his pillow and adjust it just right to suit his stiff neck. I could swab his mouth with a wet sponge when he wasn't allowed to drink anymore. And I could anticipate his needs and try to accomodate them: covers on or off, a Snickers bar, adjusting his position in the bed, time for more meds, etc. And as it got harder for him to speak and be understood, I was one of the ones who was able to interpret for him.


The day before he died, he had basically lost most of his ability to talk and couldn't get my name out, but as I walked by his bed on the way to get some snacks out in the hall, he pointed at me and said, "Her. Her. Her." Grandma was sitting by his bed, heard him and told me so I happily dropped my purse and sat and held his hand for a long time.


Although I wasn't there when he died, I'm so glad that my grandmother, my parents, my aunt, my two uncles, and two of my cousins and their wives were there by his bedside as he took his last breath. He was a family man and it's just like him to wait till they were all there surrounding his bed before he would go. As a matter of fact, the day before, I was in the room with him and his good friend, Bill, just the three of us, when he said, the loudest, clearest thing he'd said all day, "No! I can't go yet!" He wanted to wait till more loved ones were near.