Farewell sweet Poppy

The day my Nan passed away five years ago, my Pop's heart broke in two.  It was a break that could never be mended, despite all the love and comfort his family could give him.  He cared for her up until her very last minute, and had no idea how to live this life without her.  They truly were the perfect little, old pair.  Truly in love after the many, many years they had spent together.  Their connection was enviable, and something I always wanted for my own marriage.  We all worried how long we'd get to keep Pop after she passed.  Scared that his broken heart would claim him long before we were ready to let him go.  But we will never be ready for that, and that time has come.

My Pop was a real man's man.  He was strong, independent, handsome, handy around the house, an excellent husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather.  He believed in working hard and earning the things you had, including your family.  He and my Nan made the very courageous and generous decision to take in my cousin as a baby, and raised him as their own.  He rebuilt much of their home by hand, to accommodate the growing family of in-laws, grand babies and hangers-on.  And he was still working in his woodwork shed up until the week before his hospitalisation.


Nan and Pop's home was always known to us grandkids as the home of fresh baked cakes, roast dinners, baked beans on toast, chocolate Quick and a place to run-amok with the cousins.  For a long time, we would spend our Christmases in their living room, skating around the tiled floors in our new rollerblades, BBQing in the backyard under the giant mango tree, and dressing up in Nan and Pop's old clothes and jewelry.  There was nothing too fancy to play with, no area of the house or shed off limits.  Their home was our home.  And what a wonderful place it was!

After Nan passed, we made a point to drive down to Pop's place nearly every Sunday.  I would make our Sunny Family chocolate cake, Pop's absolute favourite, and we would sit at the dining table all afternoon drinking tea and telling stories (and a few dirty jokes, too).  But he was never really the same cheery man without Nan.

We were very blessed to have Pop for another five years.  Five years isn't enough, but when you long for the one person you can not have back, five years can seem like a lifetime.  And so I am grateful to know that he has finally been reunited with Nan in Heaven.  I am grateful that his passing was relatively quick and that he did not suffer with ill-health for very long.  I am grateful that I got to look into his big, beautiful eyes one more time before they closed forever.  And I am grateful that I have a childhood filled with beautiful memories.

So Poppy, you can rest easy now.  You have finally met your beloved again, in the kingdom of forever, and you can never be parted.  We will miss you every day, and long for our reunion with you both.  You are always in our hearts. Hooroo, sweet Poppy xx