Remembering Uncle Craig

Dear Grands,

Today was a very hard day for our family.  We said our goodbyes and celebrated the life of my first, best friend:  Uncle Craig.

Uncle Craiger was Pops’ baby brother.  He was 13 when I was born.  And there wasn’t anyone I’d rather play with at our house, at the lake, on the farm…anytime, anywhere, any place!  Craiger took me on his adventures, and he loved to make me laughJ

We moved to Lubbock for a couple of years when I was little, and Craig came to stay with us as often as he could.   My favorite spot was riding on top of his strong shoulders and wrestling in the living room floor until I couldn’t hold my head up.  Craiger never ran out of energy or got tired of playing with me!

Craiger went with us to the lake from the day I was born.  I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t there…skiing, swimming, fishing with Pops, or skimming stones across the muddy, red Ft. Phantom waves.  He taught me what it meant to love life and family.

Uncle Craig got older, and so did I!  He started dating a precious young lady named Fay.  When he brought her to meet us, he was so happy.  Love just sparked between those two, and I figured out real quickly that Kimmy and I were about to have a new member of our family.

Craig and Fay had their wedding in our backyard.  It was one of the highlights of my young life.  Fay walked into the garden dressed like a princess…she was the most beautiful bride I’d ever seen.  And Uncle Craig looked so handsome.  He surely was a prince.  It was just like a fairy tale come true…right there at our house!  Kim and I learned a lot about what true, everlasting love was from Uncle Craig and Aunt Fay.  Life was not always fun, fair, or kind to them, but they walked through time together…no matter what came their way.  And they always prayed together and sought God’s will for their lives and those of their family.

Uncle Craig and Aunt Fay adopted a precious baby boy named Cavin when Kim and I were in Middle school.  He was absolutely perfect!  Here I was playing with Craig’s baby just the way he had with meJ  When Cavin was 4 years old, Mom called us to come home from school, and we rushed to Hendricks Hospital.  Cavin had been in an accident and had been badly burned.  We arrived, and I’d never seen Uncle Craig so torn up.  He and Fay just couldn’t quit crying.  We prayed with them, and stayed with them until the doctors sent Cavin to a burn unit where he died soon after.  I remember getting so angry at God.  Why wasn’t he healing this precious baby that we prayed for so hard?  Uncle Craig and Aunt Fay showed me the answer to my question through the way they lived their lives.  They testified to the unconditional love and grace that Jesus gives everyone.  They never showed bitterness, and God used their testimony to bring so many lost souls to the Lord.  I truly believe that their testimony stabilized my view of eternal life.  Craig and Fay didn’t just say that they would be reunited with Cavin in heaven one day…they believed it and preached it!  They went on living …bringing others to God’s saving grace by their example.

They adopted two more babies, Robin (who was a baby when Cavin died) and Barry, who I’m proud to say are not only my precious cousins, but my dear friends.  My cousins are truly gifts from God!

Uncle Craig, Aunt Fay, Robin, and Barry may not have always lived near us, and we didn’t get to visit often, but when we did, our time was filled with joy, laughter, and the love of our family.  What a gift we all had…each other.

Two weeks ago, while he was recovering from brain surgery, Uncle Craig called me.  Of course, I was trying to get him to tell me how he was feeling, what type of treatment he was planning to have, etc…(.I always was the “chatty” oneJ). But Uncle Craig was himself…he didn’t call to talk about how he was.  No, he wanted to tell me how excited he was that Daddy (Pops) had moved to into assisted living.  He said that he couldn’t believe how well he was doing and the great changes he had seen in him.  He wanted me to know that we had done the right thing.  That’s my Uncle Craiger…always thinking of everyone else.

Now, Uncle Craiger has left us for a little while.  He’s with Cavin, MaMaw, PaPaw, Mother (Mumsie), and lots of other family members and friends.  He’s seated at the feet of His precious Savior, who he loved with all his heart and loved to tell others about.  We will grieve his absence and look forward to the day we will see him again.  But, as our family always has done, we’ll remember great stories, retell funny times, replay good days and the hard ones we thought we’d never get through…but we did!

And we’ll recall how Craiger helped us find the joy in it all, and held our hands so we wouldn’t stumble.  We’ll remind each other how he prayed for each and every person in our family even when we didn’t know or think we needed it, and how he served others in his church and community without anyone knowing it…

But Kim and I watched and saw a real man who loved the Lord and served Him.  He taught us what it meant to live for the Lord.

We also saw the way he loved our Aunt Fay from the very first moment we met her until he drew his last breath.  It was a love made in heaven.  Craig respected her, expressed that love, and taught us how we needed to be treated by a man.   Kim and I are both so thankful for those lessons we learned from their love story.

We watched him raise his children with love and through the way he lived. And, most importantly, he taught them to love the Lord with all their hearts!  What a legacy!

Grands, you’re going to always hear me tell stories about my Uncle Craig.  He has always been and will always be my precious uncle and my friend.  You’ll see me laugh and watch me cry as I remind you how much he meant to me.  I just hope that I can strive to love, live, and serve others as he did and that I can teach you just as he did me.

                                              I love you,

                                             Gransie

Note:  

Uncle Craiger, dance and sing and praise the Lord!  You made a difference in so many lives in your years with us.  Thank you for being my first, best friend, and for loving me so unconditionally.  I’ll bet you’ll be the first to meet me when I walk through heaven’s golden gates!

I love you forever!

The Torch is Passed

The Torch is Passed

My teacher, Mrs. Briles, came in crying,

          And we all cried, too.
We had no clue what had happened
          And were confused about what we should do.

Mom came early to get us that day,

          Her eyes red and filled with tears.
Not a word was spoken
          As the miles home fueled our fears.

The car pulled into the driveway

          And came to a sudden halt.
Mommy jumped out and ran through the front door.
          Did I do something?
          Was this my fault?

Kimmy and I tiptoed into the hall

          And heard a sad, gruff voice on the t.v. slowly say,
“Our president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy
          was assassinated at 12:30p.m. today.”

The television showed a line of cars

          Driving in a big parade.
It focused in on an open-topped car
            From which the President and Mrs. Kennedy smiled and waved.

Seconds later, shots rang out, screams were heard,

          And the cars with motorcycle escorts took off.
Mrs. Kennedy climbed over the back of the car
          As our president’s head dropped.

The next day Mommy took us to Faye Faye’s house,

          Because our school was closed to mourn.
Over and over we watched the movies play.
          The United States of America’s hearts were torn.

Why would a man take our president

          Who worked for equality?
What made him hate a man so much
          Who strove to make the world free?

Our family and most Americans

          Watched the President’s funeral on t.v.
Everything was black with a dirge and drums
          Playing a solemn beat.

The casket was draped with the American flag

          And transported in a wagon pulled by a horse.
As it rolled past Mrs. Kennedy and the children,
          Jon Jon saluted his daddy, of course.

President Kennedy was buried in Arlington Cemetery

          On a cold November day.
An eternal flame was lit on top of his grave,
          And I heard my Granddaddy say,
          “The torch is passed.”

 
***John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35^th President of the United States of America was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.  The news media filmed the procession of cars the President was riding in and captured the assassination on film.  The t.v. stations replayed the events for days on  end.  Children in the United States were  bombarded by the scenes of their President’s death and his funeral procession.  It was a very solemn time in our country’s history.  Young and old alike who lived through these dark times, can recall where they were or what they were doing when they heard the horrible news or saw it on television.

Who Let the Dogs Out???

Maddie & Louie, partners in                   Teddy, the elder
            crime                                                                                           Lucky, the Lookout  

                                                                                Merry, puppy-napper

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Gransie, Grandpa, and Blaze jumped in the truck and took off to find the school supplies.

While Lucky and Teddy stood guard near the porch. Maddie, Merry, & Louie napped inside.

Lucky’s ear shot up, and he peeked around the house.  Yep, they’d surely gone to town.

He woke Old Teddy up and scratched on the door.  It was time to go mess around.

Merry ran to the window Grandpa had opened for some air, and pushed it with all her might.  The three house dogs got out through the crack and soon they were out of sight.

The five had to make haste.  There was no time to waste.  The Garrett’s wouldn’t be

gone very long.  So they got on their gear, and all you could hear was the roar of the engine’s song.

With Maddie drivin’, Teddy holdin’ tight, they drove the 4-wheeler out in the sun.  And the other three strapped on with tie downs, you see…were ready for some fun!

Oh, what a sight!  It must have been a fright for the neighbors as they saw ‘em go by.  Five dogs zooming past as Maddie stepped on the gas….the others held on tight!

Jumping a ditch, they flew over the fence and landed on 2 wheels.  The horses and cows all cheered out loud as the pooches raced through the fields.

With ears and lips flappin’, those little doggies put on a mighty fine show.  But as they rounded the bend, they flew into a spin and threw a cloud of dirt over the road.

                              In the mean time…

 Gazin’ out the truck window, Blaze glimpsed something that made him rub his eyes and scream.  Grandpa slowed way down, looked at Blaze with a frown, but Blaze couldn’t even speak.

He just pointed toward the field and the cloud of dust that covered the truck and road.

Grandpa shook his head and finally said, “I guess Farmer Jim just mowed.”

But Gransie spied something zipping down the road, headed toward their place.  Shaking her head, she dismissed the notion, but a puzzled look stayed on her face.

The Garrett’s pulled up to the house, and Blaze ran into the barn.  Everything seemed to

be just right.  They opened the door, brought in the sacks, and the dogs were sound asleep inside. 

Out on the front porch, Teddie and Lucky were lying down chewing a stick.  Nothing seemed strange at all until Gransie whistled for the guys to come quick.

                        Who took off the window screen?   Burglars?  The wind?  The …..

Naw, they couldn’t have…they all turned to look at the dogs lying on the porch.

         Then, Lucky grinned at Gransie and winked.

                                          The Chihuahua and the Cottontail    

 

Each morning as the sun peeks over the mesquites in Gransie’s Gardens, Merry dances down the steps and out the gate for her morning run.  With her graceful Chihuahua-esque moves, she herds three to five uninvited guests out of the yard and into the pasture beyond the barbed wire fence.

Who, you might ask, would dare to congregate on Merry’s turf?

Why, it’s a rather large family, in fact, several generations of cottontails.

At dusk, the “stars” step on stage once more and repeat the morning performance with precision.  The mockingbirds, dove, and hummingbirds cheer them on from their perches high above.

It’s a good life!

Predictable.  On schedule.  Lots of exercise. 
No one gets hurt.

They’re living each day just as the next—anticipating tomorrow will be just like the day before.

Then, one scorching summer day, things changed.  Merry pranced out of the yard to chase the intruders away, ran them under the fence, and turned to skip back for her breakfast treat.  But something caught her attention, and she turned to see one of the cottontails hopping after her.

What?  Who did this bunny think she was?

Merry pursued the rabbit again.  She hopped away and ducked into a large prickly pear patch.  Of course, this Chihuahua was feeling very proud of herself, and she dashed through the garden doing figure eights as Gransie clapped and cheered.

When Merry reached the steps, Gransie pointed and whispered, “Merry, I think you have a visitor.”

That rabbit had followed her and stood right at the open gate, wiggling her bunny nose and her soft white tail.

The little dog ran out after her, and the two went back and forth across the field with Merry in hot pursuit and the cottontail, Honey Bunch,

scurrying just ahead of her.

Gransie couldn’t believe her eyes!  This must be one bold rabbit.  Most of them ran away and hid, but this cottontail was fierce.  Honey Bunch, Gransie’s name for bunny, would wait until Merry was almost to her in a full run, then she’d jump straight up in the air.  The dog would pass right under and stop when she realized the bunny wasn’t in front of her.

Something strange was going on here!  Gransie decided to get to the bottom of it.  She began to look around the gardens and was surprised to find a hole in the middle of the yard.  With a stem from a daylily, Gransie carefully pushed back dirt, grass, and balls of hair.  There, deep inside, she found three baby bunnies, snug as bugs in a rug.

Gransie and Merry had to have a little talk!  These must be Honey Bunch’s babies.  She was trying to get the Chihuahua to run after her so she’d leave her baby bunnies alone.  Gransie shared the new found treasure with her little friend and told her the hole must not be disturbed.

Merry changed her morning and evening dances to include a little warm-up beside the rabbit hole.  Well, a little change is good for every one of God’s creatures!  She’d look inside, take two or three sniffs and circle the hole twice.

Oh, yes, Merry would make her usual passes to scatter the rabbits…all except for Honey Bunch, who always had surprise moves and secret trails to lead her away from the babies.

The saga of the Chihuahua and the cottontail went on for days and into weeks.  The babies were safe, and the performers were happy in their roles.   One day, however, Merry circled the hole and turned to Gransie with a questioning look.  Gransie checked inside and the baby bunnies were gone.

Merry ran out of the garden.  There was Honey Bunch awaiting their morning chase.  Merry quickly followed her to the fence.  She backed away and stood staring under the boughs of a cedar.  Gransie had followed and peeked beneath the tree to see what was happening.  Three baby bunnies were sitting underneath with their mama.  Merry wasn’t moving a muscle.

Had Honey Bunch finally introduced her to the triplets?

Oh, how Gransie wished she could hear what they were saying to each other through the old fence.

          Thank you for being kind to my babies.

          You know, we aren’t so different!

          We can all live together and be friends.

          Really…new adventures make life more fun.

Merry turned and trotted to the porch, and Gransie was sure that she saw a smile on the Chihuahua’s face.

Time went by, the rabbits grew up, and Merry still has her daily runs through the gardens to chase the cottontails.  But, there’s one special bunny who always comes to challenge her and keep her on her toes.

A family dog and a wild cottontail faced off as enemies and became friends.  And they taught Gransie some special lessons about life.

The Lovie Box

The Lovie Box

“Ms. Lillie!”  The nurse entered the room calling her name. 

No reply.

 

“Now, Ms. Lillie, why are you over there by yourself looking out that old window?  You should be down in the rec room with the other folks.  You’re missing a great Valentine’s party!”

 

No response.  Lillian didn’t move, she just stared through the blinds.

 

Bobbie had seen Ms. Lillie slowly withdraw over the past two years.  She had even stopped coming to meals with the other residents.  Day after day, season after season, she sat here in her chair without a word.

 

“Yes, Ma’am, Ms. Lillie,” the nurse spoke as she changed the bed, “your friends are down there having cake and…” she suddenly stopped as Lillian swept past her, walking slowly to the closet.  Bobbie saw the frail woman reach as high as she could, but she lost her balance and stumbled back.

 

“Careful, Ms. Lillie! We can’t have you falling and breaking bones!  Why don’t you just tell me what you need, and I’ll try to find it for you.”  Bobbie was cradling her and speaking softly.

 

Lillian pointed her finger up toward the highest shelf, and Bobbie stood high on her tiptoes.  She couldn’t see anything, but her fingers finally found the prize.  Gently, she brought it down, and Lillian’s listless eyes came alive.

 

Sitting down in her chair, both hands motioned for Bobbie to bring her the box, covered in dust.  The sides were bulging and only seemed to be held together by a single red, velvet ribbon tied loosely around it.

 

“Is this what you were looking for, Ms. Lillie?”  Bobbie asked as she wiped off the dust and placed the box in the woman’s lap.  “Looks like you’ve had this for years.” 

 

Carefully, Lillian untied the ribbon and lifted the lid.  With eyes twinkling, joy swept over the wrinkled face.  She shuffled through the box’s contents, letting them slide through her fingertips.

 

“Was this box filled with money?”  Bobbie thought as she watched.  Lillian’s eyes met the young nurse’s, and Bobbie stepped over to her side.  Why, this was a box of hearts…every size, shape, and color.  Some were made of paper, while others were cloth, metal, and wooden.  There were beaded hearts and some that had been crocheted with yarn.  Lillian sorted through them, pausing…to rub each one between her thumb and fingers.

 

“These are my love memories,”  Lillian whispered.  Bobbie almost fell over.  She’d not heard the woman speak in months…maybe even a year.  “Each one reminds me of a special moment in my life when I truly felt loved.”  And she rubbed a wrinkled and stained linen heart against her cheek.

 

“I cut this heart from the hankie I carried on my wedding day.  Did you see the flowers I embroidered on it?”  Lillian held it out for Bobbie to see.  The young woman was spellbound, but she nodded.

 

The older woman’s stiff fingers found something else, and she she gasped, “Why…look at this!”  Lillian proudly displayed a crinkled aluminum heart.  “My MaMaw used to bake pies in the old tin that I got this from.”  Lillian licked her lips, and Bobbie could just see her tasting that creamy chocolate.  They both giggled.

 

“Mama let me have this one after Daddy died,” Lillian held her head high, and looked directly into Bobbie’s eyes and urged her to touch the piece of khaki wool.  “It was part of my daddy’s uniform.  He died in France in World War 1.”  Bobbie was dumbfounded!   “What else, Ms. Lillie?” she wanted more.

 

Lillian’s eyes and hands searched the contents once again.  “Oh…” she almost squealed with delight as she lifted a red-flocked, heart-shaped card.  Bobbie noticed that much of the flocking had been rubbed away.  “Jimmy bought me this when our daughter was born…February 14^th, 1939.  That was such a beautiful day!”  She began to hum a tune as she returned to her memories.

 

Bobbie was speechless!  The silent, frail woman that she’d cared for the past couple of years, had come alive, reliving a life of love in a musty old box of hearts.  Lillian thrust a velvet box into Bobbie’s lap.  Bobbie carefully pried open the heart and found a little ring inside.  Lillian took the ring, placed it on her finger, and held it up before her so she could see.  “My husband proposed to me on Christmas morning, 1937.  We didn’t have much,” Lillian shook her head, “but he’d found this ring in a box of Crackerjacks.  It was perfect…just perfect!”

 

“What about this one, Ms. Lillie?”  Bobbie had spied a tattered, red doily that had been taped together far too many times.  She held it out for her.

 

Lillian gently took it and pulled it to her chest for a long moment.   Then, she put down the box and turned toward the window, as the heart floated to the floor.  Once again, she entered into her world of silence, lost in memories.

 

Bobbie brushed a tear from her cheek as she collected the box and placed it on a bedside table.  Where did Ms. Lillie go?  Bobbie knew that for just a few moments, she’d been invited into a secret place where a woman’s lovely memories displayed an amazing life which had been locked away behind clouds of confusion and dementia.   She longed to know more, but she’d have to wait for a very special time to enter once again.

 

As she tidied up the room, the door swung open, and a small girl peeked inside and tiptoed over to where the frail woman sat.  A gray-haired woman in her mid-seventies followed.  The child knelt beside Lillian’s chair and carefully took her hand, whispering, “Nana Lillie, here is a new lovie for your box!”  She placed a golden heart locket into Lillian’s open palm and popped it open to reveal a picture of the precious great-granddaughter who was by her side.  Lillian brought her hand to her face and squinted to examine the new treasure.

 

The girl moved directly in front of her nana, cupping her face with her small hands and looked deeply into her eyes.  “I love you, Nana!”

 

Lillian’s hand rose and touched the child’s cheek as she smiled and spoke, “And I love you, Madolyn.  Let’s put this in my box of lovies.”

 

She slowly stood from the chair and walked toward the table where Bobbie had placed the box.  As she did, she grasped the hand of the woman who came in with Madolyn and softly squeezed it.  Without meeting her eyes, Lillian spoke under her breath, “And…happy birthday to you, Val!”  They both smiled.

 

Bobbie closed the door without a sound.  She smiled and hummed a familiar tune as she entered the next room.  She would never take a person’s silence for granted again…for behind every heart is a story that longs to be opened. 

 

And, by the way, Bobbie is still collecting loviesJ



At Last!

 

At Last!

“Dad, what are we looking for?” Blaze was searching his daddy’s face.

 

“I’m not sure, Buddy.  But we’ll know when we find it,” answered Adam softly.

 

They’d been sitting on the creek bank…watching, listening, waiting…for something.

 

Adam and his son both had an emptiness down deep inside that neither had been able to fill.  Oh, they loved each other very much and always had lots of fun when they were able to be together, but something was missing.  The hole remained.  Nothing was quite enough to fill it up.

 

With Adam propped against a live oak tree, Blaze skipped rocks across the quiet waters.   The West Texas wind was strangely gentle today.   Suddenly, Adam shot straight up

and looked toward the hill in the east.

 

“Dad, what is it?  Did you see a deer?” Blaze ran to his side trying to catch his breath.

 

Adam shook his head and put his finger to his lips.  Blaze

was following his gaze, trying to catch a glimpse of what his father had seen.  Nothing.

 

“What?”  Blaze’s arms flew into the air impatiently.  “I don’t see it!”

 

“I didn’t see anything, Blazer.” Adam whispered,  “Listen!”

 

They stood like statues…waiting, listening, searching.

 

“It must have been my imagination.  I thought I heard bells.”

Adam shook his head and sat down once again.

 

“Like Santa’s bells?”  Blaze had to get to the bottom of this.

Adam shook his head.  “No.”

 

“Like the bells that ring at the church?  Or the ones in the marching band?”

Adam’s nods were now frustrating his son.

 

“Then, what did you hear?”  Blaze pointed at his dad and started laughing. “Oh, you dozed off and were dreaming!”

 

Adam stood up, gave Blaze a nudge, and they started walking up the hill toward the truck.  They were almost ready to climb in when Blaze stopped in his tracks. 

 

“Dad!”  Blaze was waving his hands wildly to get his attention.  Adam stepped around the truck and put his arm around Blaze’s shoulders.

 

“Dad, it’s coming from down there,” Blaze whispered pointing to the valley below.

 

“What are you talking about?”  Adam asked looking into Blaze’s eyes.

 

“The music…the bells.”

 

Adam and Blaze rushed to the side of the hill and looked down into the gnarly mesquites, cactus, and broom weeds.  They made their way down the hill…listening, searching.  Every few steps, Adam’s hand would touch Blaze’s shoulder to stop him…waiting, listening, searching.

 

They finally came to a point where they had to wind around the bottom of the hill, and the music grew louder.  Whatever they were hearing was drawing them in, and their hearts were almost pounding out of their chests.  They had to find the music.   Almost there, they pushed through the thick weeds and branches, stumbling over rocks and prickly pears, trudging forward to the beautiful sound that was now filling the air and wooing their hearts.

 

“Blaze, stop!” Adam suddenly grabbed Blaze’s arm, stopping him in his tracks.  “I’ll go in first.  You stay here.  It might be dangerous.”

 

Blaze nodded in agreement.  He didn’t want to get hurt, and his daddy could take care of anything!

 

He was waiting, listening, and searching as far as he could see through the trees as he sat down on a big rock to wait.  Wow!  This adventure made him tired!  He laid down and closed his eyes.

 

Adam came to a clearing under the cliff of the hill and entered a meadow.  He could see something or someone standing at the meadow’s edge, but the glare of the sun was too bright.  Adam squinted and shielded his eyes with his hand as he tried to bring the figure into focus.  Standing before him was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.  Her smile took his breath away.

She slowly came toward him with outstretched arms. 

 

“You’ve finally come!  I’ve been waiting for you!” Her words filled his heart and took away the pain of emptiness that he’d known for so long.

 

Adam reached out and took Lauren’s hands in his.  They stood for a moment holding on to the joy and love they both had waited, listened, and searched for all of their lives.

 

“Dad!  Dad!  Where are you?” Blaze’s voice burst through the air.   “Da—ddy!  Are you alright?”

“Over here, Blazer!”  Adam shouted.

 

Blaze ran into the meadow and stopped right in front of his dad and Lauren.  He stood before them, mouth wide open and shaking his head, not fully understanding what was happening.

 

They reached out and took one of Blaze’s hands in each of theirs, and he somehow knew that everything was going to be just fine.  The music filled the empty places and created a symphony of love, trust, and happiness.  A family was born and their adventures have just begun.

 

**Adam, Lauren, and Blaze will formally be united together as a family on January 26, 2013.