Long Time Gone

Well. Hello, hello, hello. It’s been so long since I’ve blogged I legitimately forgot how to log in to my site and had to Google it. For the love. It’s hard being this dumb all of the time.

I’m not going to even attempt to catch anybody up on the last THREE YEARS. It’s too much. We’ve moved one million times. We are in Auburn, AL now and planning on staying here for the kids to finish high school. (Hopefully, but I’ve said that before and I was wrong.) Anywho, we have been in a rental and recently bought a house. In getting ready to move I’ve been in the basement all day, unpacking all of the boxes that haven’t been opened since we lived in Mississippi. Almost 5 years ago. While going through boxes and boxes of books, (I SWANEE I have pared down my collection with every move and there are still full boxes that I can’t part with.) I found the baby journals I kept while I was pregnant with each of the girls and it WRECKED me.

I am so glad that I kept them. So many memories I had totally forgotten. One of the entries in Aubrey’s journal was about the death of my grandfather and it was so timely for me. And I think maybe in will be for some other people as well. So much so that I’m blogging for the first time in THREE YEARS.

The world is shifting so much right now. My peers and I are dealing with aging parents. I cannot count the number of deaths that I read about from my Facebook friends every day. COVID, old age, a combination of the both. Deep breath. Being an adult really blows sometimes. So, here goes nothing. Hope this might encourage you, or make you feel seen, or less alone…

Nov 15, 2005                                                                                                                           

Tuesday, 9:03pm

My sweetie girl! This past Friday, my grandfather, (Cleon), Pa’s dad, passed away. Your daddy was gone on job interviews and you and I drove to Birmingham to see Cleon on Thursday afternoon. I think the last time I had seen him was at B’s wedding in June.

I was shocked to see how thin he was. He only 150 lbs and he was 6’4″. He looked so old and sick and frail. But you weren’t the least bit afraid. You probably were the best behaved you have ever been. You sat in your stroller and babbled to him, then you would grunt and kiss your lips at him. I bet I picked you up at least 20 times so you could kiss him.

He was so thrilled to see you. He couldn’t believe how beautiful and sweet you were. Pa and Aunt Diane said it was the first time he had smiled in two months.

Cleon was scheduled to have his left leg amputated on Friday morning from an injury going all the way back to World War II! But the surgery was going to be so traumatic the doctors didn’t want to put him to sleep for it. But he began to have trouble breathing and Friday around noon, he passed away. Trish, Pa and Aunt Diane were all with him.

And although I am saddened by the loss, especially for Trish, I am so thankful that he passed without the trauma of surgery. The saddest part of all was having to watch my Daddy say good-bye to his Dad. And having to watch a faithful and loving wife say good-bye to her husband.

Death is simply a part of life. And to become truly alive, resurrected, we have to leave our bodies. It is so bittersweet. But the sweetness is in knowing we will see each other again. The pastor at the funeral quoted Cleon as saying, “I will lose this battle but I will win the war.”

This is my greatest prayer for you, and I’m sure it was Cleon’s for you as well,. That early in your life you will find and develop your own relationship with Jesus. So that I, along with everyone else who loves you, will have the pleasure of your company for all eternity.

Please, as you grow up, don’t forget or cast aside your grandparents, their love for & the legacy they leave behind is one of the most precious gifts you could ever receive.

I love you,

Momma

Hang in there, folks. Thinking of all of you. Hopefully it won’t be three more years before I post again. But no promises.