Papaw

My granddad died Tuesday.

In elementary school, I spent almost every afternoon at my grandparent's house. That meant that I spent at least a part of every afternoon sitting next to Papaw in his rocking chair. It was one of the highlights of my day. Sitting next to him watching Andy Griffith or The Carol Burnett Show or whatever rerun was on TBS.

Last week, I went to see him in the nursing home. I asked him if I could sit on his bed. It reminded me of sitting next to him in that old rocking chair. I told him I remembered the last time we sat in the chair together.

I was 12. He was sitting in his chair and I gave him the familiar "please scoot over so I can sit next to you" look. He did and I squeezed in beside him and propped my feet up on the ottoman. As we sat there with the wooden arms of the chair pressing into our kidneys, Pap said, "I think this is the last time we'll be able to do this." It was.

As I sat on his bed last week, I reminded him of that last time we shared his chair. He nodded and mouthed that he remembered it too. He smiled, I smiled.

I have so many great memories of Pap. Over the last several years, I've shared someof them. I will share more soon.