volfans User Profile

Our nine year old son looks so much like his grandfather, who he never got to meet. He died in January of 1998 and our son was born in August of 1999.
His middle name is the same as his grandfather's. I know they would have been inseperable. When our son was about 5 years old, he came to us crying his eyes out and said he wanted to die ! Naturally, we were shocked and asked him why. He answered by saying that he knew Papaw was in Heaven and he was sad because he never got to meet him. He went on to say that if he died, he would get to see him and he knew that Jesus and Papaw would take care of him. Of course we explained that he would get to meet both of them when the time came, but we hoped it would be a long time. Isn't it amazing how young minds and hearts work ?

My favorite 4th of July was last year when my 91 year old grandfather was able to come to my house. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease two years earlier and had to be put in a nursing home because of this and various other health issues. My grandmother had passed away on Thanksgiving night of 2006 and "Papa" had not been the same since. I think he secretly longed to join her, but knew that decision was not up to him.
We had recently moved into a new home and he had just not been up to visiting us, so I was thrilled when he was able to come and celebrate the fourth at our home. We live near a minor league baseball stadium and are lucky enough to be able to see the fireworks from our backyard. Although they shoot fireworks every time they win a game, there was a huge fireworks display planned for that evening. We have a large picture window in our living room and although he wasn't able to go outside and watch, he did enjoy them from inside.
Less than 3 weeks later, we got the call we had dreaded getting. He had passed away in his sleep at the center. Even though I missed him terribly, I was thankful he had gone peacefully. He was buried on what would have been their 68th wedding anniversary. What a surprise for my grandmother! I bet the celebration in Heaven was much better than the one in my backyard! I miss them both so much, but would never wish them back. I am so glad I got to spend his last fourth of July with him.