Papaw Narrative

Times like these are when I learned to accept the things that I cannot change. That death will always come. However, before this point a young me had never experienced loss. It was always tricky to comprehend for me at the time. Where did he go? When will he be back? Knowing keep down that the answer is never. Overcoming the looming sense of emptiness took sometime, as it does for everyone. But learning lessons about life and death is an important part of growing up. Losing such a close companion as a young child will always remain the turning point of realizing that good things and people do not last forever, and to always cherish the memories and moments had with those you love.

The man I called papa was my grandfather, my mentor, and my friend. Always a great example for what exceptional leader was. With noble integrity and a unique sense of human responsibility, always taking care of others. He was always

However, one character in my life was never ordinary; in fact, he was the exact definition of extraordinary. My “papaw” became my favorite playmate, my other half, and my best friend. We were commonly referred to as "two peas in a pod" and " each other's pride and joy." I loved my grandpa in the deepest, most sincere way a young child could. As I grew older, my grandpa assumed the role of my confidant and supporter. When my grandmother would scold me or when my sister and I would argue, I knew that I could retreat into the loving arms of my grandfather. The only thing that he ever did to upset me was when he said, "When I go, I'll miss everyone, but I'll miss you the most, Bug." Little did I know, I would soon long to hear these

I never really knew my grandpa as well as I would have liked. He was already an old, old man by the time I started high school, and my own memories of him are mostly of a man confined by age and ailing health. So I'm not really going to talk about my memories of him. Instead, I'm going to try to share his memories and the memories of those that knew him.

I met Travis James Votaw in the summer of 2005, at Victory Church. Each of different family members were connected with one another. Our moms were dance moms, little sister’s were in a dance class, our dad’s were in the same men ministry at our church. Needless to say, we had a lot of connections of meeting one another. My family and I never had a family that we just “clicked” with. The Votaws were just like us, only from South Texas! I remember my mama telling me that we were going to go on a day trip with the Votaws to Mt. Scott in Lawton, Oklahoma. We spent the whole day with them, it was so much fun! The one memory that I remember the most from the trip was the car rides. Kimi rode with my parents and Jessi (thank goodness they didn’t scare her off! ☺) I rode with John, Shirley, and the boys. For some reason the Votaws had a giant bag of mini pretzels. John declared a challenge for all of us to do, it was to eat the inside of the pretzel without destroying the outer ring. Needless to

It has been almost 3 years since he has passed and there is not a day that goes by in which I do not think of him. This really hit me hard and it took a while for me accept the fact that I will never get to see him again. From going through the experience of a loss I have learned that life can take you in a blink of an eye and that you need to make the most of it because you never know what is going to happen

Early October 2016 to January 2017, was the hardest time ever in my life. In October we found out that my Grandpa had a very aggressive form of stage four brain cancer. We knew that there was something wrong but we never thought it would be that bad. For the next month, the doctors ran tests, decided on a game plan, and gave results. My grandpa was in severe pain and confusions. We got the results that he would need to go through surgery on his brain to remove the tumor. This was around November 15. That was probably the scariest day of my life. His surgery and I will never forget, was at 12:10 pm. I remember sitting at the kitchen counter and I just prayed for half an hour. After that, I remember going on my computer and searching on Google

My grandpa is the best grandpa ever , he teaches me stuff and always cheers me up when I'm sad . He always helps me when I don't know what I'm doing and no matter what we are doing doesn't matter if it's working or not we always have fun together and I know I don't see him a lot but when I do I cherish the moments I have with him . That is why my grandpa is my Michigan hero

My uncle ray loved telling jokes, he had very funny corny jokes. He was also very shy, but outgoing to his own friends and family, and that's the uncle ray I remember. There are many memories I have of him, one is the time he helped me play the guitar. I was stringing the guitar on the couch, and he helped me string it and play a few notes. He looked up

This past saturday, our family lost the one thing that made our world go round. we lost a person that could not possibly be replaced. we lost a person that made our family stronger than ever. we lost a person that taught us more than any school or institution could teach. we lost gramp, and i lost my best

I’m stuck, stuck in a thought. I’m that whirligig maker from Chicago that crashed your campsite. However, It’s been fun having you around! After you departed from the campsite, I was in awe because the little aspects you made me notice when you taught me the game, Go. I felt that there was hope, I could be brought to life but as a new me and this game appeared as if I was reconstructing my new existence. I’m currently heading towards Florida, and then to Washington to then mount my next whirligig. I have many thoughts roaming in my heads like stray dogs in a park. I’m enjoying the freedom, however, I think I’m taking this trip which is suppose to be in memory for Lea for granted. I can’t get my parents off my mind because they didn’t and they

The death of a loved one is one of the most challenging events I have had to overcome. The summer of 2014, I was just going into my junior year, was one for the books. It was an absolutely amazing summer. My sister had her first baby in May and we were getting to make his first summer his best, but little did we know it would also be his last. We lost him at the end of July. It was one of the hardest things to cope with. So many unanswered questions still to this day stand.

I distinctly remember the weeknights at his house. Sitting upon his lap, walking down the street, getting pulled in my wagon through a park--these were things I loved doing with Grandpa. I was not just another person to him: I was the ultimate grandson, and I was special.

I clearly remember the day I found out about my granddad's passing. I was at school. It was a normal, joyful day. My dad was planning on picking me up, but instead my friend's mom picked me up. He would not tell me why, but I did not think much of it. I remember the car ride to my house. My friend's mom would not tell me why she was driving me home; all she told me was, "Just know, Ryan, that we will be here for you no matter

Once, in the first week following his passing, I came through my front door and looked at the area where he would usually be sitting or lying. I called for him with the foolish notation that he would appear and come running to me. But of course, he did not. Then, I walked past his empty food bowls and tears started running down my face. It was a shattering reminder that he was gone and never coming back.