Monday, November 2, 2015

Remembering Larry

I'll tell ya what. That whole..."time heals all things"...that's a big lie. A year later, we miss him deep; we miss him wide. And we still wonder who we're supposed to call when the car breaks down or if we run out of gas. We still wait for his phone call every time there's a siren {every.single.one}. We often will respond in "Larry" fashion to a song, story, or antic. We roll our eyes anytime anyone talks about Nascar.

I remember so much about him.

The way his eyes twinkled when he laughed...
The way he took great delight in all of his grandchildren {and spoke of them constantly}...

The pride he had in all 4 of his children...
The joy he got in a single phone call {didn't matter who was on the other line, he was happy}...
His love of muscle cars...
His {sometimes embarrassing} hillbilly ways...
His stories...constant stories of his buddies and sometimes his siblings...
How he wanted to know where we all were at all times...
How protective he was over those he loved...
The questions he had about heaven and grace...
His fondness for very weird food combos {chili hot dogs, slaw dogs, macaroni & tomatoe paste, potatoes with EVERY.thing}...
The assurance that He loved Jesus and wanted to be in heaven one day...


 I remember how much he loved his grandchildren. That's honestly the thing that sticks out most about this guy. He knew everything there is to know about these babies. He worried and fretted about them night and day.

I remember how much he loved to make his grandkids' day. Below is one of my favorite memories of him ever. So proud to take little D out in his buddy's hot rod. It is, to this day, the first and last thing Dillon always says about his Pa-Paw...that guy loved his cars!


I remember how big he loved, how well he loved. I remember if there was any question in his mind that we {any of us who loved him} could possibly be upset at him, he wouldn't sleep until it was resolved.

I remember being a little nervous...unsure of how he would respond or react to us starting our family with adoption {via foster care}. Every person reacts differently, and this was a guy who would likely see my child multiple times a week. Was he going to accept our children? Was he going to love them fully? Was he going to hold back and be awkward?

But that day we told them we were going to be parents, all those fears were put to rest. In October of 2009, he took those 8 printed out pictures of his future grandson and he put them in his pocket. Every.Single.Day he asked about him. "When will we get him? Why is it taking so long? What does he love? I can't wait to meet my Dillon." And when they discovered a mutual love of cars and all things "manly," they never had a dull moment between the two of them. 

As we packed up their belongings, I found those pictures, well worn and faded. They were in his dresser with other important papers. With big fat tears, I thanked God for a father-in-law who not only loved me but loved my babies, big and small. Each time we told them of our new addition...with great enthusiasm and love, he opened his arms. He loved so fully.


I see so much of him in his 4 kids and all of his grandkids. My deepest hope is that they, too, will love big like their pa-paw, take time to help other people, and be friends with everyone. I remember lots of anxious conversations by his bedside in those last months. He would fret that his grandkids wouldn't remember him. He wondered if they would know how much he loved them. He pleaded with us in desperation to make sure and tell them. 

And we do. As often as possible. And we will. Always.

No comments:

Post a Comment