Pop

Wow, I'm so behind on blogging. So much has happened over the past month but I can't proceed until I note a very important event in our family.

My sweet Pop went to be with Jesus on Saturday, December 29. It was sudden and unexpected, not that death really ever is something we plan. He had just been in our home on Christmas just days before and was hesitant to come because he had been a little under the weather with flu like symptoms.  They only stayed for a few hours due to the weather and 2 days later we received a call that he had collapsed in his bathroom.  By the time the paramedics arrived and revived him, his heart was beating but he was unresponsive. He stayed in the hospital in a coma for 2 days while my family arrived from all over the world. He breathed his last breath with Memo, my Mom, Aunts, Uncles, and my brother John standing around his bed reciting the 23rd Psalm.  Just before he died he raised his hands slightly and shed a tear.   I was told it was a beautiful, peaceful entrance into the arms of Jesus.  I have so many wonderful memories of Pop and since my blog is an outlet for me to record things I want to remember, I am going to take a moment to reflect.
As a young child I remember him taking us out to hunt for "crawdads" and feed ducks at a local park, playing "popcorn"or the made up game where he would try to grab our legs as we ran around the trampoline, or riding on his back as his crawled around on all fours as a horse. He loved Baylor and would keep us outfitted in our green and gold and attended many a bear football game with us then treated us to lunch at the Turkey Shop.  I loved riding in his car because the front seat moved back and forth, much unlike our suburban bench seats.  I remember him loving to drive a manual transmission and it was such a foreign thing to me.
One of the neatest things that he did was every morning wake up and pour a cup of coffee in a special mug- one for each of his kids and grandkids that reminded him of them- and pray for us.  I always felt those prayers and knew he and Memo loved and supported me fully.  He would always read from scriptures and pray or sing before our meals at family gatherings.  Even though many times I was impatient to get to eating and a little embarrassed to have to go around the table to share something I am thankful for, I will always remember him at the head of the table leading our family to the throne of God.  Now I am so grateful for those times together as a family.
One of the best memories of him that I will always treasure is that he was able to officiate a portion of our wedding.  He stood at the altar while my Dad walked me down the aisle, did the giving away, then read the poem "How Do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  He got choked up, which made me get choked up because I knew that he was thinking of Memo and the love he had for her.  It was a beautiful moment and one I will cherish.  I pray that Rocky and I will have half of the marriage that they did.  63 years...inspirational.  They read the same poem at his graveside service, and needless to say, I got choked up again.

Rocky and I had some good times with he and Memo through our years living in the DFW area.  He grew to love Pop like his own grandfather and tried to laugh it off as much as possible when he would pick on him about being bald. :0) Pop never had a problem keeping people humble and poking fun but glossing it over with a hearty laugh.  He was one of the happiest people I have ever met, always laughing and smiling where ever he went.

He just loved and adored Brinley and Cason and was so thrilled to become a great grandfather.  He would often write me emails telling me how proud he was and how much he loved them. 
I am so thankful that he was able to meet Cason because even though he loved Brinley, it did his heart so much good to see a boy to hopefully carry on the legacy of sports in the family.  Cason gave him a few of his sweet smiles on Christmas Day and I will never forget the joy it brought him to see that.
I feel so blessed to have had such an amazing man as my grandfather. I never doubted a day in my life how proud he was of me, and in his death I realize that really, I am the proud one.  I know he is in heaven now praising and one day I will see him again.  Thanks be to God!