Losing my Poppy

I lost my grandfather this morning. It's an empty feeling to lose someone you lived next to and spent so much time with your entire life. I actually lived 28 of my 31 years within a mile from him. Even after I moved an hour away, I went to visit he and my granny every Sunday. Two Sundays ago, I made my normal visit, but I didn't realize it would be my last to speak to him. I had cleaned their house and washed the blanket on his favorite chair. The last thing he said to me was, "Widders (my nickname), my blanket feels real fuzzy." That was his way of thanking me, even though he didn't have to thank me.
In true Cutbirth fashion, he did not give up fighting. As his family surrounded him after the respirator was removed he lingered. I think mainly he did that to listen to us recount the many stories we had heard from him. We talked about the time when his brother chopped his toes off with an ax, when he was a little boy. Both brothers calling the either's bluff and neither relenting, an ax swipe and two toes later, Poppy (what we call him) learned a valuable lesson: his brother was as stubborn and ornery as he was. Or when he, as little boy, decided that he would no longer be called William. He went to school and told his teachers and every classmate that "from this day forth, call me Billy Joe." So they did and we did, and the road he lived on for sixy plus years, is named Billy Joe Road.
At one point, while the family was gathered in the waiting room, I stopped to take note of the different conversations going on. Although we were a distraught family, there was laughter and pleasantry. Even though we got together more than most families, I wondered why we hadn't more.
This post has not much to do about Hard Work U, except for my grandfather was one of the best rolemodels I had to learn how to work hard. I held his hands this weekend and felt their roughness, callouses so thick they will never wear thin. This will be a difficult week for me and my family. I hope it's a great week for Poppy as he not only gets to go to heaven but gets to listen to how we admire and love him.