Warren Ideus, of Luling, Texas, beloved grandfather and proud veteran of three wars, lost his battle with cancer today at age 84. I’m thankful I got to see him while he still understood who was visiting him.
I thought I was glad I had been able to say goodbye, but it turns out that the last goodbye doesn’t seem like it’s enough. Seeing Pawpaw this last week was hard. I spent a ton of time with Granny and Pawpaw when I was little, so I remember Pawpaw as a strong, larger-than-life farmer with an infectious laugh and unending supply of love. When I was almost 8, we moved away for 16 years and I saw him only a few times. I never saw the transition from middle age to old man, so his illness was that reality check. I’m going to miss him. And as silly as it sounds, I’m sad that my future children won’t know their great-grandfather. Seems silly to me to be thinking of that for some reason.
I got a call from my friend at lunchtime today–I bet she didn’t know when she dialed how wonderful it would be for me to hear her loving, encouraging voice right then. And when I got home, I had two letters from two more friends to brighten my day. Maybe that’s all coincidence, or maybe it’s a divine reminder that life goes on and blesses me in countless ways, little and small, when I need it most.
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