It's not a goodbye, just a see you later.

It's crazy how attached to someone you can become in such a short period of time.  For a year, I had the privilege to know one of the most humble, sweet, and caring grandfathers in the entire world.  My boyfriend, Sam, had the privilege to know this man for his entire life. For the year that I have gotten to know Sam and his family, I have also grown closer to every single one of them.  I can still remember the first time I spent time with them, last year at Christmas.  I walked into their house and there was Papa.  He smiled at me and said "Oh I know who this girl is! I've seen you at school!"

On Wednesday, October 3^rd, 2012, I woke up to a message from Sam saying that Papa had a stroke in the middle of the night and was in the hospital.  For the next few days, the nurses monitored him and said that he was going to be okay.  The next day however, the blood in his brain had spread everywhere, but his breathing and heart rate were normal. If he would have lived, he would have been a vegetable, which is why everyone prayed that the good Lord would call him home soon.  

Sam’s parents took turns spending the night at the hospital with Papa.  You could tell that none of them were their selves, but how could you be at a time like this? It wasn't normal seeing all of them sad and upset, especially Sam. Sam has always been the type of person to tell jokes and make you laugh, which are traits that he received from his grandpa.  For the past year that Sam and I have been together, every time I would become upset, he was there to cheer me up and be there for me.  Now, it was my turn to be there for him.  

I couldn't imagine what the family was going through.  Just the weekend before, we were all sitting around in Papa and Mama's house having a wonderful time, and then the next weekend, Papa was gone. The part that really touched me though, was that Mama (Papa’s wife), never left his side at the hospital.  They were married for fifty- eight years.  A love like that is hard to find and even till his last days, you could tell that their love only got stronger every day.  Another part that touched me was that in Papa’s last few minutes of consciousness, he couldn't remember anyone, but when he saw Sam, he looked up and smiled because he remembered him.  Papa died Saturday, October 6^th, 2012.

When situations like this happen, it's hard not to question God, "Why?" Although that's the last thing that we should do, we do it anyway.  God works in mysterious ways and in my fifteen years, I've learned this and I have come to accept it, no matter how hard it is.  It's true that God gained an angel, but it's also true that Sam gained a guardian angel as well.  Papa was loved by everyone and in just a year of knowing him, I learned that he was beyond a wonderful man.  He was loved by a remarkable woman, who still continues to love him now and always will.  He had two great children and four amazing grandchildren who loved him dearly.  It’s true that life is short, so love the ones who are good to you, respect the ones that are not and always keep the faith.