Popo goes to Heaven

My grandfather had been having some heart failure for the past few months. He's had shortness of breath for a long time but has been able to regulate it with medicine up to a few months ago. He was put in the hospital and then moved to a nursing home in Fredericksburg. We drove to Fredericksburg a few weeks ago, on a Monday, to see him because we weren't sure how much longer he'd last. I told Ryon before we went that I knew in my heart it was going to be the last time I'd see him alive. To see him so sick and different compared to Christmas was so sad to me. At Christmas he was at the ranch drinking a beer, sitting around the fire with us, and now, three months later he was in a nursing home struggling to breath. He saw my growing belly bump and immediately asked if I was going to tell him the names I had picked out. He remembered me telling him we'd name our boy Mason when we were pregnant with him. He remembered me confiding that secret in him all those years before. His mind was still there, but his body was failing him. We talked ranch, cattle, kids; mostly I just looked. Trying to etch his face into my memory. It wasn't a way I wanted to remember him but I knew in my heart he'd be in Heaven soon. I'm thankful to Ryon for taking the trip down there, holding conversation together and having that moment with him as well. Ryon had known Popo for longer than he'd known me. He met Popo before we met when he was just friends with Trey visiting our ranch. Before we left that day, my dad and Ryon left the room and so I could tell Popo what names we have picked out; he approved and I'm glad I got to tell him.

So, on April 1 Popo ate lunch, laid down for a nap and died in his sleep. My parents were on their way to visit him and when they got there they were trying to resuscitate him. The timing of his death couldn't be more perfect for him. He died in holy week. He died during a Christian's most important religious holiday. He was an extremely religious man who knew the Lord and brought his family up in the church. It made sense for him to join heaven during a week such as Holy Week. Second, he died on April Fools Day. This makes us chickle because Popo was the ultimate prankster. He was always putting a wet finger in your ear, giving a pen that would shock you, squirting water on you in some way…he was always up to something! So it makes perfect sense that he'd leave his legacy on this earth on April Fools Day…maybe as a reminder to all of us to have a little fun, pick on those we love the most, and fully live our days until we are more than 90 years old!

Since he died on Wednesday, we were already on our Fort Worth Trip. Friday morning we had to head to Brownwood to pick up funeral clothes from Rick and Teri they had picked up for us and then drove to Fredericksburg for the visitation. The funeral was then Saturday with burial in Mason. What a beautiful last drive for Popo to take. Fredericksburg to Mason was simply amazing with all the bluebonnets. After the funeral my little family was completely beat. From vacation, to driving all over Texas, funeral, we couldn't spend one more minute in the car. We were going to head on home Saturday night but by the time we got to Brady we were all about to pull our hair out. We ended up going to Baird to de-stress and run around. It was a good decision. We all woke up rested, spent the day there and then came back to Midland Sunday late afternoon. Overall, we spent about 18 hours in the car. We missed two days of our vacation but I know we'll get to do those things another time. It was a long few days for sure! We were glad to get back to our little world here in Midland.