‘Pop’ is what we called my grandpa, Dad’s dad. He died this morning, at the very ripe old age of 91, at about 0830.
When people die everyone seems to say how wonderful they were and they truly romanticise their life. I am counted in everyone and by telling mostly good things about him, my favourite memories, it may seem like there was nothing bad about him. I don’t actually know if that is true or not, to be honest I don’t really know anything particularly bad about him. I was his granddaughter and he was always lovely to me.
I’m very sad that I didn’t get to see him that last time. I saw him on Mothers’ Day and he actually got better after that. He went home, out of hospital, and was doing okay. Last I heard my Nan, his wife, my grandmother, had gone into hospital but he was at home. Last night my dad called to tell me that Pop was in hospital and he’d taken a sudden turn so he’d probably die this week. I thought that Wednesday would be a good time for me to visit both Nana and Pop in hospital, I could drive to uni and then to the hospitals. However, it wasn’t to be and I got a call from my dad saying “it was all over”. Mostly I’m sorry for his sake that I didn’t see him. I hope he knows that I love him and I was going to come to see him the first chance I got. About ten hours wasn’t enough.
Things that I think of when I think of my Pop are his muscles. He had these fantastic arm muscles that just popped up when he flexed them. Even when he was in his seventies he was as fit as a fiddle. He used to come over and do gardening for us. One time in particular I remember he’d been watching Burke’s Backyard so he came over especially to put holes in our lawn. Apparently it’s good for the lawn if you go around poking the soil with a pitch fork. Whenever he was over doing work I’d ask him to show me his muscles. When my brother came along he would join in the pleas. Apart from the occasional complaint of gout when we’d go out for seafood buffet lunch he was very well.
Other things include his separation from Nan, it seemed so strange to me when I was young that people who had been married for so long would be separated. They got back together though. They were bickerers, sometimes it was terrible but sometimes it was just a bit silly. Nan doesn’t seem to remember that now. She has dementia and seems to only remember the times they were together. I can’t imagine what she’s going to be like at the funeral, it was bad when her mother died. I pray that God gives her strength and comfort.
We got a good proportion of our cars from him. He must have gotten great deals at the Toyota place! Instead of trading n he would give us his old car when he got a new one. We don’t need cars now. I think that Dennis, my uncle, is going to get his current one.
I think that Pop was always happy to see us, always loved us, was always impressed with the people we were growing into. I hope he wasn’t too afraid when he was going to die, or too sad when we didn’t see him in time. I don’t know if he was a Christian, but one day not too long ago, after Pop was diagnosed with lung cancer (he wasn’t a smoker), a lady from across the road asked him if he was sure of his salvation, or something like that; he said he was.
this past year he has had lung cancer and pneumonia and several falls. He even drove his car when he got out of hospital one of those times! It’s been a rough year and very strange because it was the first time I’d seen someone dying who was in their right mind. My great-grandmother had had dementia as well. I hope that God is caring for him, it’s what I’ve been praying for months now. If you trust in Jesus then maybe you can pray that for him as well.
This wasn’t very eloquent and my thoughts are a bit of a jumble. I hope the rest of my family is alright, my prayers are with them as well as Pop and Nan and myself. I am comforted by the fact that my Pop lived to be the oldest man I’ve ever met and in the end his painful days were not too many.
I am so sorry to hear your news. *hugs*
I’m sorry to hear about your grandfather. And your post was beautiful.
Thankyou both!
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. You and your family are in my thoughts..
Thanks Queen.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I think your thoughts and memories were lovely, I’m sorry for your loss.
I will keep you family in my prayers as I also hold mine in that same place.