Keeping Papa Roy Alive

We lost Papa Roy this week and its so hard to say goodbye. Seeing his face in this picture or in my mind makes me weep. I see him in his son's face or glancing at a man walking across the parking lot. I know its cause I long to see him again, that I can not believe he is gone. I cry as I type. I cry as I drive. I cry looking at his empty chair. I know there will be a time when I only have smiles for his memory but that time seems so far away.

Hearts get old and bodies get fragile. But Roy's spirit was always strong. A friend said to me that Roy was an amazing person, he always lived with passion pursuing the things that he loved. That is so so true. He loved nature and spent a good deal of time teaching Cullen to love it too. Nature walks and hunting bugs were always a highlight of time spent with Papa Roy. You could always find them snuggled up on Roy's chair reading a book about bugs or snakes or such.

I now spend my time fearful of the closed hand wielding some nasty creature or digging in the refrigerator for the perfect snack for a gigantic grasshopper. Papa Roy always laughed at the monster he had created.