blessed beyond measure

So I was in the process of writing a silly little post about remembering how it used to be in my childhood and we got to the end of a school year. Had written a little at a time over the course of a few days. It was just silly. And then the phone rang. My Pawpaw Melvin lost his battle with lung cancer last week. Or, depending on how you look at it, he won the battle. For at this moment he is in the presence of Jesus, a victory if ever there was one. And he is healed. Completely. No more pain, no more tears, nothing but clearly and deeply breathing in the joy of Heaven. Back on earth, our family cries and grieves over having lost such a strong, precious man. We remember countless stories from our time with him. We rejoice to know how and where he is now, and that we will see him again. We pray for each other in our pain. We worry over Meemaw. And we are reminded to cherish every moment. Here at home, we have been on somewhat of a spiritual journey. This is the first per...

It's the word you both have said about a thousand times more than any other word in your expansive vocabularies. The word moaned in sickness. Whispered in the dead of night. Shouted from across rooms and over the phone. Growled through gritted teeth in frustration. Whined until my ears bled. Repeated like a mantra to tease me. Sweetly spoken when you need some love. And I answer. Maybe not every last time, but close. Because I'm the only one. I know what you're afraid of. I know what will calm you down. I know how to make you laugh, and I know what makes you cry. I know when you're having the best day of your life, and when you can barely hold it together. My arms have folded you in love. Comforted you in sadness. Restrained you in tantrums. Pushed you into new experiences. Caught you when you fell. Rejoiced with you in victory. Cradled you as I tried to hold onto the memory of when you used to actually fit in my arms, and as I rocked you for hours ...