Life of Crime

I love that Granddaddy was the epitome of the perfect grandfather. 

He was sweet, had the best laugh, knew everything, and was the most adorable grandfather! He worked hard, stayed informed, always shared his knowledge with anyone who would listen - his students, his daughters, grand kids, or strangers alike. He loved Nana with all that he was and took care of her as long as he could - she never even had to learn to drive!

But Granddaddy also had a secret side: he liked to burn DVD's. Although he was in his mid-80's, he was always so captivated by technology and made sure to learn as much as possible. When he got his movie subscription account going, he just didn't have enough time to watch the movies right away (he had to run Nana to her hair appointments and see about their dog, Annie) so sometimes he would copy them to watch on a later day. He never distributed any of the copies, but I always thought that this was so funny...Granddaddy and his life of [petty] crime. Haha!

Hard to believe it's been over 3 years now since he's left us - his legacy and love lives on. We miss you so much Granddaddy!

♥

Daddy liked to lie in bed and read

Daddy liked to lie in bed and read. When I was a little girl, I would stand in the doorway, run at top speed, and jump on him. He would laugh at the top of his lungs and so would I. I did this all of our lives. I was big enough for both of us and I still kept running and jumping on him. He never got tired of it and neither did I. It makes me laugh to think about it.

He lives on

Today is the second anniversary of my Dad's death. I remember what it feels like to hug him and how happy it made him. I remember chasing the warmth of his body as he left us. Now I know that he never left us at all. He always told me to pass things on. I have passed many things he taught me on to my children. He lives on.

Football Sunday

many times, he told me of his days as uncle john, 
as a football coach in carrabelle.
his stories about football 
taught me that strength is found in losing,
just like it can be found in winning.
he taught me that football is a lot like life...
there are a lot of rules.
you are all supposed to go in the same general direction,
if you decide to go in a direction that is not the direction your are "supposed" to go in, there is certainly a distance you can go that will be considered "out of bounds."
there will always be people who will make a concerted effort to go against you.
some of us are hurt by others and some of us are out to hurt others.
some of us wear clothes that are probably too tight to wear in public.
helments and skulls have evolved to protect the brain,
but, regardless, brain cell stills seem to be negatively impacted
by massive blows to the head.
sometimes in football and in life, you get your ass kicked,
and that is ok, as long as you're wearing a mouthpiece and a cup,
because you will likely need to have a voice at some point in your life...and so will your children.

Reflection on Granddaddy's Visit to Washington

there he stood, at the beginning of the end,
next to a flag of vapor, sailing in the wind,
his breath pushing smoke into heavy sighs to fall,
like the old army cigarettes, stale inside the wall.
the ghosts of modern men, frozen in cement,
pistols packed with permanent peace and pavement.
all is still on this cold day in Washington.
the war has stopped.
no politician or fabricated purpose
could move them all to kill each other now.
there are no more lies about pride,
noone to will them all to die,
noone to divide them all into sides,
to put them into boxes inside their minds,
noone to decide who has lost, or who has won,
out of so many, they are left with just one.

Nana's Story

There are many stories I could tell about my wonderful husband, but the one I have chosen is how we first met. I was in third grade when the teacher introduced a new little boy to the class. He had on short white pants and a white shirt, and looked a great deal more dressed up than any of the other little boys who wore much more casual attire, so some of  them began to giggle. The girls, however, were thrilled. My best friend at the time leaned over to me and said, "oh, he is cute!" I very confidently replied, "He's mine", and so he was. 


He did tell me later that he had to fight several of those little boys before they figured out he wasn't a sissy, no matter how he was dressed.

The Garden of Flowers

Nana and I love to plant flowers in pots in her backyard.  Granddaddy used to come outside and bark orders to us, telling us how dumb we were acting and how we didn’t know what we were doing.  Nana always told him things like “Johnny!  Why do you have to be so grouchy all the time?  We could probably do it better if you weren’t yelling at us.” 

After Granddaddy passed away, before Nana moved out of their house, Nana and I did our traditional planting charade.  This time, sadly, without Granddaddy’s commanding voice, which we now wished we could hear again. 

…Lots of flowers died that year… Turns out granddaddy barked orders for a reason : )