Remembering My Papaw J. M. "Red" Sullivan 1927-2006

All day I have had my Papaw on my mind, then I remembered today was the one year anniversary of his passing. Papaw was always so funny and cheerful. I miss walking in his house and hearing him say "Hello, Mel Mel!" Although it was awful to say goodbye to him, the Lord was gracious to our family during that time. My Papaw was cared for by those that loved him the most during the last 2 weeks of his life. Round the clock there was one of us there, cousins, my aunts and uncles and other relatives. The first 5 days of his decline the Lord blessed us with a happy Papaw that sat up and greeted all who came to see him. He always had a smile and a joke, you see "John was a good boy", that was one of his sayings and you would have just had to be there to get it. Then the last week or so, when he could only lay in the bed he never wanted for anything. He was never cared for by a stranger. My family was awesome. I could have never imagined that all of us would come together like we did. The last day, after hours of unconsciousness, he glanced over toward my mother and Granny and smiled the prettiest smile, (can you just imagine what he was seeing?) and he dropped his robe of flesh and went home. No one wanted to leave, we all just wanted to stay together. After the funeral we planned to have sleep overs at Granny's so we could all be together more. Of course, we all got on with our lives and time has once again separated us, but I will always remember the special time when I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was with family who loved each other. Some of them I have not seen but a few times since then. But, I am glad to have those memories and I learned that although we may seem far apart.......we never really are. Thank you Lord for all of my family and for letting us have Papaw Red for so many years.