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Those of you who have been visiting here for awhile know just how much Jonge, Famke and Kado adored Pa, and the feelings were mutual..JPG)
Kado, being two months old, will have no memory of Pa. Hopefully, that last picture of the two of them together will be as meaningful to Kado someday, as it was to Pa on the night it was taken.
Famke thought of Pa as her own little audience. "Watch me, Pa!", she would say, and then pause while she thought of something REALLY impressive to do for him. He LOVED her favorite phrase, "I DO IT!", and if any of us tried to aid him in any way these last few weeks, he was quick to quote her and tell us plainly, "I DO IT!"..jpg)
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At the funeral home, Famke could not quite grasp what was going on (actually, neither could i). Together we watched the video that the funeral home had put together. In it was a picture of Daughter, Jonge, Famke and Kado with Pa. She turned from the video, looked over at the casket and said, "C'mon Pa!"
Jonge is having a much more difficult time. Jonge is the age my dad was when he had his first encounter with death. Daughter and Son-in-law have been doing their best to explain death to him. Jonge had seen Pa in the hospital in the past, noticed the addition of oxygen, seen all of the needle marks from blood draws up and down his arms, and refered to my dad as Pa With A Cane. The cane has been passed on to Jonge.
Just a week before my dad died, when we knew that he would never pull out of this one, I asked Jonge and Famke if they would like to talk to Pa on the phone. I told them that Pa could not hear very well and that they would have to talk loudly. They were both excited and eager to talk to him. The call was a success. My dad was thrilled to talk to them. He could hear them both very clearly. I'm glad he could, because they both got to tell him that they loved him.
Monday, Daughter was talking to Jonge about how we were going to go to the funeral home to say good-bye to Pa.
Jonge ask her, "Will we have to say it loud?"
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7 comments:
I'm so happy for you and your grandkids that they have these things to remember their "Pa". How sweet that Jonge has his cane now. :) I have a simple keychain that my grandpa made and it's one of my favorite things just because it was his. I know that Jonge & Famke will remember something.
Oh my...this one made me cry. I can so remember those days in my own life experiences. Dylan was only 8 days old when my Dad died. We just had a 90-year-old friend die and one of his great-grandsons, a young man, spoke at the funeral and said how blessed he'd been to have the opportunity to really know his great-grandpa. I'm sure Jonge especially will feel the same way someday.
I just thought of a tender memory about my dad's death. I was sitting on the sofa and my son & d-i-l came over with infant Dylan. My d-i-l placed Dylan in my arms and said, "We figured you could use some baby time about now." As I gazed down at that precious face, I thought about how the Lord takes but the Lord gives as well...the circle of life just goes 'round and 'round. And I cried like a baby right then, too.
Your writings will contain a lot of special memories for Jonge and Famke of their time with their Pa. Someday, when they're old enough, they'll treasure being able to revisit all the times they had together.
I swear you have three of the sweetest grandchildren, Judy. And Kado! He's changing so much already! Such a sweet boy.
Bless their hearts..and yours!
Beautiful pictures of your grandkids. So sweet. I love the sunflower pictures.
"will we have to say it loud?" Oh that is priceless! Just last week while having lunch with my granddaughter, age 3 1/2, and my mom, age 80, the little one asked me, "who is YOUR grandma?" I said "well, I had two very special grandmas, and now they are in heaven with your G-Pa (my dad)...she said without hesitation, "well they need to come BACK!" Yep, kids say the darndest things! I won't forget what your grandkids said...there's got to be a book in here somewhere, yes?
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