Precious Memories….

Before I write about my silly little life.. I want to pause a moment so we can all stop drop and pray for for Heather as she and her family grieve the loss of little Maddie. The big girl in me knows we should be celebrating Maddie’s Homecoming. But the little girl in me just hurts so much for this family and wants to know why. SO lets be in prayer for a moment or two for this family as they journey through a very dark place right now.

Thanks, y’all.

Precious memories… how they linger. Today, April 8th, I celebrate my PawPaw’s homecoming. Its been a long long time since the machines were turned off and he passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus. 20 years to be exact. Y’all? My Paw Paw was such an amazing man… a trouble maker… a boat rocking wonderful man. See? he lived in Southeast Texas. Owned a beauty supply company. Pretty dull, right? Well, I guess he could have chosen for his life to be dull and uneventful. It would have been easier, for sure. But my PawPaw was an awesome, God fearing, wonderful man. Because my PawPaw loved Jesus… he chose to love everyone. He helped anyone who needed help. And he hired anyone he deemed worthy of hiring. That, my friends, rocked some serious boats in Beaumont Texas. This country, knock kneed, horse riding, business genius hired people of color, people with marred pasts, people with developmental delays…. and if they worked for him? They worked WITH him.. sales counter, delivery, call sales.. everything.

When Christmas came around he always asked for the same thing. 6 Pairs of shoes and 6 bags of socks… to be delivered anonymously to the local primary school for kids who may not see a new pair of shoes in their entire childhood.  His birthday? same thing. Now, there was one type of gift you could get PawPaw just for him… and that was ANYthing Texas Aggie. He was Class of 42 and he loved him some Fighting Texas Aggies. (whoop!) I seriously owe a huge part of who I am today to the lessons he taught me. He taught me how to love, how to laugh and make others laugh, how to curse, how to tie knots, how to drive a tractor, ride horses, chase horses that get out of the trailer, the grammatically proper way to yell sonnuvabitch when you stub your toe. But most of all? He taught me that true love happens. That children are a gift. God is good ALL the time. That time is precious… and memories count.

I called my Ganny today… its usually a hard day for her. They were SO much in love from the moment they met (which is a HILARIOUS story I should share soon) until this very day. Anyways, I called her, expecting to hear the yearly recount of what happened on his last day… bracing myself actually. But Ganny’s dementia has done her a favor of sorts. She no longer remembers the significance of April 8th. She barely remembers me. We know its time to prepare for another homecoming… but today? I close my eyes , smell sweet feed, and see me as a little girl… dancing on my Paw Paw’s feet.

Precious Memories

How they linger

How they ever flood my soul;

In the stillness of the midnight,

Precous, sacred scenes unfold.