Saying Good-Bye

We got a phone call Tuesday evening that caused us to quickly throw a bunch of stuff in a giant duffle bag, put the kids in the car, and make the 8-hour drive all night to Clovis, New Mexico. My father-in-law, who has been battling lung cancer off and on for four years, had taken a turn for the worse and had to be rushed to the hospital. The doctor gave him no hope; the cancer had taken over his whole body. He was told he would live maybe 3 weeks, maybe 3 months. We wanted to come and say our good-byes while he was still coherent and alert.

Unfortunately we didn't make it in time. We were about 15 minutes too late. We are thankful that we knew Pa-paw loved us and he knew we loved him. We just wish we could have had the chance to say it one more time.

We have spent the last few days with family, celebrating Pa-paw's life and mourning his death. I never realized what a sweet sight it was to see him sitting in his easy chair with his iced tea in one hand and his remote in the other....usually watching the weather channel. The living room sure seems empty without him there. I wish he could have read this news article about himself, and I wish he could have known about the surprise tribute that was planned for him on the first home high school football game in a couple of weeks. He was truly loved and will be missed greatly. We love you, Pa-paw.