Saying goodbye to Pop Pop

This has been a hard week.  Sunday, Scott and I sat by his Dad's bed while he spent his last minutes on earth.  We rejoiced at the moment when his pain and suffering ended but our hearts were broken at the knowledge that his days here with us had ended. Explaining to Sierra that her Pop was gone prompted many, many questions as she tried to comprehend it all.  My older sons especially David also mourned the man they have come to love as their grandfather. When I married Scott, his family open their hearts and their arms to my children.  His death has left a huge void in our family. His kind heart and generous spirit and his love of us all will be missed.  His funeral today was a great celebration of the life he led.  Many people from all walks of life came to bid farewell to this man who had somehow touched their lives.  Scott and his 2 brothers worked hard to make the day extra special.  The fire company ,where so many of our family, including Pop Pop , were members, gave him a fireman's send off complete with a 2 fire truck escort.  And as we passed by the firehouse Dad's fire gear sat in a chair outside the door.  The firemen's pagers went off with the message that fireman Bob H had answered his final call and then the fire whistle blew.  It was a very emotional moment.  Sierra, I think today, finally understood the implications of it all and the tears came.   Seeing her big brothers and her Dad visibly upset finally allowed her to shed the tears she had been fighting.  And the  moment I will most remember was at the cemetary when  the pall bearers, all 8 of them,( Scott, his 2 brothers, my 3 sons and our 2 young nephews,) so lovingly  carried him to his final resting place.
I am glad he is not suffering.  I am glad he is no longer in pain.  I rejoice that he is safe in the arms of Jesus.  But oh how I will miss his smile , his twinkling eyes, and the love he showered on all of us!!


                                          Sierra and Pop Pop on Super Bowl Sunday 2011

                                       Pop Pop as an angel drawn the day Pop Pop died