Love is one of the most powerful things humanity can feel and express. Most people want to love and be loved in some sense. There is a reason romance and romantic comedy are some of the most popular genres of film and literature. They offer nearly perfect love stories that make people feel good and hopeful about finding "the one." But sometimes the best love stories aren’t made up in a film or book; they’re real. For example, my grandparents. My Grandma and Papa got married in 1965. My Grandma had already had my aunt and my mom from her previous marriage with my Grandpa. It didn’t work out with him and Papa came into the picture. Grandma, Papa and the two girls moved into the new house they built in 1965 and that was just the beginning.
I don’t know much about the early years, but I do remember what I was there for. Papa has always been an ornery man. He’s a man of few words, but what he does say, he says with conviction. He’s very stubborn and set in his ways. But he always had a weak spot for Grandma. He never loved anything as much as he loves her.
I remember spending much of my early childhood at their house and he could come home aggravated from a hard day at work as a carpenter. He would come home sweaty and tired, but once he kissed Grandma hello, he was relaxed. Now don’t get me wrong, he was never perfect just like the rest of us, but she made him a better person.
Unfortunately, my memories of the two together are very limited because my Grandma passed away at the young age of 58 in 2001 when I was six. Papa was, of course, devastated. The love of his life passed away and he was lost. He made it through the funeral. I’m assuming it was beautiful just as she deserved. He made sure her resting place was as beautiful as she was with flowers and a memorial bench. Lost and devastated, Papa went and sat at her grave the morning after she was buried. And then he went again that night. And then again the next morning and that night. This continued for days before he told anyone. It takes time to heal. But days turned into weeks, weeks to months and months to years.
In November of 2016, it will be 15 years since she passed away and to this day, Papa stills sits on that memorial bench every morning and every night without fail for at least a couple hours each. He stills talks to her. He buys her scratch-off tickets and scratches them off for her. He rejoices when she wins a little something and is bummed when she doesn’t. He decorates her grave with hummingbird lights and her favorite flowers. The house they lived in still is exactly the same as it was before she passed away. Her shoes, hat and coat are still by the front door. Her bible is still next to her rocking chair in the living room that is sitting right next to his recliner. Nothing has changed, especially his love for her. It is still very real and it is the strongest love I’ve ever seen. It shows me love is real. And one day I want someone to love someone and have someone love me as much as Papa stills loves Grandma, even 15 years after her passing.
