Bobba

I have had a brief hiatus from the blog. I don't know how many times I have said that to start a blog, but I'm sure it's a lot. Anyway, I've been on break because Tom's dad, Bob, went to hospice on September 20th. I wasn't sure how to talk about it on the blog, and every other topic seemed strange to talk about as our lives became centered around the end of a very long journey. Bob suffered from a rare form of dementia called,  Pick's Disease, and he had been sick for 7 years. Although the end has come with great sadness, it has also been relief. Bob was very sick for a long time and we are grateful that his suffering has ended.

He had been sick for Lily's entire life. She remembers him, but had not seen him in over two years. He stopped speaking about three years ago and went to live in a nursing home over two years ago. It's hard to know if he knew who Lily was when he last saw her, but she remember her Bobba. Her Bobba had always been sick, but she had many special interactions with him before the illness had taken too much of him. I wasn't comfortable taking Lily to visit him in the nursing home for many reasons, but, mainly, it was to keep her memories safe. Drew and Julianna, however, do not have any memories of Bob. Julianna was born after he had moved into the nursing home.

My paternal grandfather, Papa, died when I was Drew's age. In fact, my children are the ages of my sister, brother and I when our Papa died. My memories of him are fleeting at best, but I can say with assurance that I love him very much. I feel like my love for him is a testement to my parents, aunts and uncles. They have kept Papa alive in my heart all of this time. I know so many of his stories by heart. He was pretty amazing and also pretty proud to be a grandpa of eight grandchildren under the age of 5.

All of this love I have for a grandpa I hardly knew gives me so much comfort when I think of my children. They will never know Bob the way we wish they could have known him, but they will love him just the same. Our family will keep the spirit of Bob alive in our hearts and homes for Lily, Drew and Julianna. They will know his stories by heart. They will laugh at all the goofy things their grandpa did, even if they weren't there to see it. They will think of their Bobba when they hear the music that he loved. And they will appricate who they are because a piece of Bobba is in each one of them.