A Boy and His Pop Pop.

My Pop.  Chase’s Pop Pop.

Last weekend, Chase could barely contain his belly laughing as he shared a prank he pulled on Pops in retaliation for something he had done to him the day before.  This 19 year old man-child of mine had taken a hot glue gun to a pack of cigarettes and mercilessly glued every one single one of them inside the pack.

Just a few weeks ago, I heard Pop laughing tell me about how he had sent Chase off to the dump. Only problem is that he had pulled the bags off the truck before he sent Chase on his way.   Pop got a good laugh watching Chase drive down the drive and head to the dump—trash free.

I’m 48 years old and have NEVER been brave  enough to even think about messing with Pop’s sacred cigarettes.

But a boy and his Pop Pop is a different story.

Chase lives with Pop.  It was one of those things that was supposed to be temporary after Pop had some medical issues.  I had my hands full with caring for Preston and Chase stepped up in my place to help my brothers out.  A year and half later, Chase has never come home.

His choice.

It’s an answered prayer of sorts.

My boys know grief.  We lost their daddy when they were just little boys. Chase clung to his paternal grandfather as a way to get pieces of his daddy.   Just a few years after that loss, their world, especially Chase’s, was rocked again.  Their paternal grandfather murdered their grandmother.  They lost both grandparents that awful day in February 2013 , one to Heaven and the other to a life sentence at Lee Correctional Institution.

My Pop has been a source of strength through it all.  But something(Jesus) drew an old man and young boy close and the bond they have now is unforgettable and unbreakable.

They need each other.

Pop has Parkinson’s among a few other medical conditions.  As health issues arise, he has his grandson to help him.   When he’s tired, Chase will drive him to see his beloved wife in the nursing home.  He has turned into quite the cook for them both.  He needs the advice, love, and never ending encouragement that only Pop Pop can give him.

For me, as a mama and a daughter, it’s been a beautiful to watch the love between them grow daily. I love hearing about the pranks and the easy banter between a boy and his Pop.

God has blessed me.

 

The Beancounter.