Late last night, my Poppy passed away. He was my mom’s dad and he was the coolest. I try hard to keep what I write on the blog positive, and I promise you, this has a positive spin. I’m writing this because I’m in absolute awe of him. Even in his last few weeks, which I think were harder on all of us than on him, he smiled … a lot. His liver and pancreas had failed, and when doctors and nurses would ask, “How are you feeling today, Pops?”, he’d bellow, “Grrrreat!” Sometimes he said it through gritted teeth and a pained look in his eyes, but he believed it, so he kept on.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s good to smile. No, it’s utterly necessary to smile. I had a friend in middle school who wore a faded yellow shirt with the words, “Don’t Let The Turkeys Get You Down.” I hardly understood it then, still think it’s goofy now, but the faded yellow shirt was trying to get us all to smile, to stay positive, to think happy thoughts. Poppy was always laughing, he was always slipping silverware into my purse as a teenager at Red Lobster (and yes, upon discovering I’d walked out of the restaurant with a bag full of cutlery, I was mortified), he was endlessly telling tales of imaginary girls named “Bubbles” while forever-loving my Bubby (she passed away too young), he told fart jokes and flung paper spitballs, he wore shirts with boobies on them, and he told you he loved you all of the time. Stay positive. Don’t let stupid crap bog you down. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Well, do, but then take a deep breath, smile and have a cookie, dance in the rain.
image via Fine Art America
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So sorry for your loss. Your Poppy was wonderful… he was so funny and sweet! He lives on in you, your sister & family 🙂
Thanks, Is! We love you!
Lovely post Lexi, sorry for your loss but your memories will live forever.
Thank you for the reminder of not letting “stupid crap” win!
Thank you so much!
Sorry for your loss, but it sounds like he left you with lots of awesome memories and important lessons about life!
Rachel
How Bout Some Cake
Thank you, Rachel!
I am so sorry for the loss of your Poppy. I hope you, his family & friends find some peace & comfort during a difficult time. I really like your spin: “have a cookie, dance in the rain.”
Thank you so much! So glad you liked the part about the cookie — very necessary.
YOu have absolutely exquisite taste and i love your writing style.
Cant wait for your new website but already following on twitter and pinterest.
I am having a giveaway so I hope you’ll stop by and enter : )
http://www.thefinebalance.net
Aww, Lex, I’m sorry for your loss. I totally agree with you with focusing on the positive. My “Pop” died when I was much younger, but I remember he was able to get squirrels to eat out of his hand. We would sit on the patio, and he would tell me to sit very still, and soon they would come down out of the trees and line up and wait for him to feed them. They all had names and stories that he would tell me.
I think our Pops would have been friends. 🙂
i’m so sorry! i am glad to hear that he was such a positive and impactful person in your life – i wish you and your family the best
<3 katherine
I am so sorry Lexi for your loss. Hope you and your family find comfort and peace in these difficult times….your poppy’s positivity shines through you.
I am so sorry for your loss. This was an amazing post and although I didn’t know your Poppy, your words made made us all like him. I really needed a reminder to be positive today, so thanks for that!
All the best,
Amber Genise
so sorry to hear that Lexi! I love the quote on this post
I was lucky enough to meet Poppy at your wedding. It wasn’t just fart jokes that he loved…he also had an affinity for freezing blonde girls. He was the best.
haha, that is absolutely true! Love you!