Thursday, January 14, 2010

Farewell To Our Popeye

In the early morning hours of January 12th, 2010, a soul took flight.

It was to be one of thousands that day.

But for our family, this one particular soul's departure brought us to our knees.

Tuesday morning and a ringing phone at 7:19 am meant we would never hear The Monkey scream with happiness, "POPEYE!!" as The Husband's dad walked through our door.

At 7:19, we found out The Eldest would never hear, "There's my Little Chickadee!" again.

A ringing phone meant The Boy had lost a kindred spirit. The Princess would not receive the perfectly picked out birthday card next month, addressed to his Little Peanut.

7:19 brought our souls to the depths of despair, at the realization of all we had lost.

Golf trips. Dinners. Christmases. Birthdays. Stories. They all must happen without Popeye now.

Grieving wife. Grieving sons and daughters. Grieving grandkids. Grieving sister. Grieving family. Grieving friends.

But at 7:19 am, on January 12th, 2010, that solitary soul, one of thousands that day, was not grieving.

He was rejoicing.

By 7:19 am, he was in Jesus' loving embrace. He was being wrapped in his mother's arms. He was being hugged fiercely by his father. And his brother. And brother-in-law. And being greeted by other family and friends. He was celebrating.

And had probably already scheduled in a tee time.

So we are left to mourn. Left to remember. Tell stories. Laugh. Cry. Hug. Get angry at him. Get angry at ourselves. Hit a wall. Tell Mom you'll fix that. Smell his shirts. Wear his hoodie. Sit on his bed and sob. Fiddle with his glasses that sit on the desk. Smile at a memory. Answer the phone. Not sleep. Comfort someone. Be comforted. Answer questions. Ask questions. Make tea. Reminisce. Pass around the Tylenol. Be amazed at the thoughtfulness of friends.

Desperately miss him. Wish it was still Monday, January 11th, 2010.

And yet, in all of that, remember that Dad is already off golfing, with a big smile on his face and in very good company.

Sláinte mhaith, Dad. God speed.

9 comments:

Gina said...

I am so sorry for your loss...but wow, this is one of the most beautiful posts I've ever read.

Ellie said...

That brought tears to my eyes! I'm so sorry for the loss your family is going through. Knowing he is with Jesus should give you comfort.

Je said...

What a beautiful loving tribute.
I'm thinking of you all.

bridget {bake at 350} said...

What a beautiful post. Crying along with you...

sjb said...

C your gift for writing is so beautiful! And you are so blessed to be able to express your experiences of life in ways that make us nod our heads and our hearts expand. Loosing parents is indescribable to the child but they are also all those other things that you have named, husband, brother, uncle and Popeye. May our best memories of them be the gift our grief.

~liz said...

i am so, so sorry for your loss. that was a lovely eulogy... ~liz

Captain Dumbass said...

I'm sorry to hear that, but at least he's somewhere where he'll always have his best tee time and he'll never get stuck behind a slow foursome.

Bullwinkle said...

I'm so sorry for your loss. (Yes, even a total internet stranger can be touched by that lovely post.)

MahoneyMusings said...

Thank you....all of you. You have no idea how much your comments have meant to me and The Husband.