In Rememberance

The smell of peppermint and after-shave fill my nose. I can see his soft, fluffy, white hair and his white Santa mustache.

He is standing at the stove, making fried potatoes and onions. Pretty soon everyon will be here, and we will all be laughing.

We are in the living room, sitting around talking. He isn't looking so well and neither is she.

He asks us to quiet down for a minute so he can explain something. Little did we know we didn't want to hear it. As he takes her hand, she begins to cry quietly.

He tells is about his recent doctor's appointment. He has stage four colon cancer and it has metastasized to his liver. No one speaks. We are all in complete shock. A tear ran down his cheek.

This man we have loved for so long will soon be gone. The man she has loved for 52 years will be but a memory.

The months to come were more difficult than we could have ever imagined. He was in and out of the hospital and had numerous doctor appointments.

His final months were terrible for us. Watching him slowly deteriorate killed me inside. The man that I spent my summers with until I was 12 was dying, and I couldn't do anything about it. My visits with him became longer and more emotional.

There would be nights I wouldn't go home til almost eleven o'clock because he didn't want me to leave his side. I cried most of the time I was with him.

His last month was the worst. he began to lose his hair, his skin became almost translucent, he was frail, and stayed in a hospital bed in his living room right beside the sofa. She slept on that sofa every night.

She never left his side. She loved that man more than anyone could ever understand and would do anything for him. They were inseperable.

My Pop-Pop passed away on Tuesday, April 27, 2010. He had fought the cancer for two years and had finally lost the battle. He was the most amazing man I have ever known. He is greatly missed and truly loved.